27th December: Making Meals With Christmas Leftovers

Today I've been quite productive; I popped to the supermarket to get some bargain vegetables for soups etc. and then popped into Newbury to have a wander around the sales. Finally, I spent the rest of today cooking to use up Christmas leftovers.

Turkey, Ham & Leek Pie
This pie is so tasty and my favourite way to use up Christmas turkey leftovers. To make it extra easy (after the stress of cooking Christmas dinner), I buy ready-made puff pastry and I make this filling using the mighty can of condensed chicken soup - the way my mum has always taught me. If you've never used this then you should! It's great for making creamy sauces for pastas and pies.

Ingredients:
Leftover cooked ham, cubed
Leftover cooked turkey, cubed
100ml Double cream
250ml Chicken stock
1 Can condensed chicken soup
3 Tbsp white wine vinegar
2 Leeks, chopped
2 Small white onions, diced
Ground black pepper
Pinch of salt
15g Butter
Ready made puff pastry
1 Egg, beaten

Method:

• Melt butter in a deep saucepan/stock pot, add onions and sweat briefly before adding the turkey and ham. Add the white wine vinegar and allow to simmer.
• Pour the condensed soup into a bowl, add a can's worth of cold water and pop into the microwave for 3 minutes before stirring and adding to the meat and onion mix.
• Add the chicken stock, seasoning and double cream and stir gently. Reduce the heat and allow to bubble gently for 10 minutes. Add the leeks near to the end or they'll cook down to nothing. I usually add these 5 minutes before removing this from the heat and then allow the filling to cool before adding to your pie dish.
• Once cool, cover with pastry, cut two small air holes, decorate if you feel like it with the pastry off-cuts, brush with the beaten egg and then cook in the oven at 200 degrees for 20 minutes or until the pastry is puffed and golden.

Oriental Turkey & Sweetcorn Soup
Usually I make this soup with leftover roast chicken but turkey works too. It's one of my favourite soups and on the odd occasion that we have a Chinese takeaway I always order this. Making it at home is very easy though, not to mention cheap.

Ingredients:
100g Cooked turkey/chicken, shredded
900ml Chicken stock
2 Slices of fresh ginger
2 Garlic cloves, halved
Can of creamed corn
1 Tbsp Chinese rice wine/Dry Sherry
1 Tbsp light soy sauce
Pinch of salt
2 Eggs, beaten

Method:

• Put the stock in a large saucepan/stock pot with the ginger and garlic and bring to the boil over a high heat. Reduce the heat and leave bubbling for a further 5 minutes.
• Remove the ginger and garlic, add the cooked turkey, creamed corn, rice wine, salt and light soy sauce. Stir occasionally over a medium heat for a further 5 minutes.
• Turn back up to a high heat to bring to the boil once more, then gradually pour in the beaten eggs while using a chopstick to stir to create threads. Reduce the heat and cook for a final 5-7 minutes. 

This soup is very easy to make and really tasty and filling thanks to the protein from the turkey and egg. I love the threads of egg in the soup and the chopsticks are best for creating these. I only had dark soy sauce in the cupboard so my soup has turned much darker, so make sure you don't put too much soy sauce in.

I've made plenty of soup to last me the next few lunch times at home, we had pie for dinner tonight and the remaining filling I've frozen for another meal. There's enough turkey leftover for a stir fry tomorrow and so we've done really well from our Christmas leftovers and I'm just glad we haven't wasted anything (cold pigs in blankets are so tasty too!). Any veg left in the fridge I'm going to cook into a nice soup to freeze until I'm back at work and then it can be used for my lunch.

I'm trying to get myself organised and savvy for 2016; lots of New Years Resolutions written down, budgets set and lots of fun planned for next year too. I wonder just how fast 2016 will go considering how quickly this year has flown past. Let's not wish next Christmas too quickly!

Em x