4B I DAWSON COUNTY NEWS I dawsonnews.com
Wednesday, November 24,2021
Dishes
ADLEN ROBINSON
Columnist
I hope you all enjoyed
a wonderful
Thanksgiving Day meal
with your family and
friends. If you were the
host, you likely have
lots of leftovers. It is
time to transform those
leftovers and enjoy
some delicious meals
with those ingredients.
Enjoy!
What is more com
forting than turkey pot
pie? Nothing comes to
mind! You can make
this super quick if you
use store-bought pie
crusts.
Turkey Pot Pie
• 1 egg plus 1
tablespoon water
• 1/3 cup butter
• 1 onion, diced
• 1/3 cup flour
• !/2 teaspoon poul
try seasoning
• 14 teaspoon dried
thyme
• !/2 teaspoon salt
and pepper
• 1 cup chicken
broth
• 2/3 cup half and
half
• 1 % cups frozen
vegetables,
thawed
• 2 !/2 cups leftover
cooked turkey,
diced
• 'A cup parsley,
minced
• 1 double pie crust
Preheat oven to
400-degrees. Whisk
together the egg and 1
tablespoon water and
set aside. In a saucepan,
melt butter and then add
diced onion, cooking
until soft, 5 to 8 min
utes. Add flour, poultry
to make Thanksgiving leftovers a hit
seasoning, thyme, salt
and pepper. Slowly
whisk in chicken broth
and half and half. Bring
to a boil, then simmer
for a few minutes,
whisking until thick
ened. Add turkey,
thawed vegetables, and
parsley. Taste for sea
soning, adding more if
necessary. Line a pie
plate with one of the pie
crusts and pour in the
filling. Brush the edges
with the egg wash, and
then top with the other
pie crust, fluting edges.
Cut a few vents in the
top and brush with the
egg wash. Place the pie
on a baking sheet (in
case of spillover) and
bake until golden
brown, about 35-40
minutes. If edges begin
to brown too quickly,
cover them with some
aluminum foil.
Cool pot pie for 10
minutes before serving.
This is one of those
dishes that is perfect for
chilly fall and winter
dinners—nobody would
guess that a dish this
delicious is perfect with
leftover turkey. You
could also totally make
this with rotisserie
chicken.
Turkey Tetrazzini
• 1 pound dry spa
ghetti
• 6 tablespoons but
ter, divided
• 2 cloves garlic,
minced
• 1 pound mush
rooms, sliced
• !/2 cup dry white
wine
• 14 cup flour
• 2 Vi cups chicken
or turkey broth
• 1 cup heavy
cream
• 1 teaspoon salt
• Vi teaspoon pep
per
• 5 cups cooked
turkey (or chick
en) chopped
• 1 cup shredded
sharp white Ched
dar cheese
• 1 cup frozen peas
• 1 teaspoon dried
oregano
• 1 14 cup panko
bread crumbs
• 1/2 cup Parmesan,
grated
• 2 tablespoons
olive oil
Preheat oven to
350-degrees. Spray a
9xl3-inch baking dish
with nonstick cooking
oil. In a large pot of
salted boiling water,
cook spaghetti accord
ing to package direc
tions. Drain. In a large
skillet over medium-
high heat, melt 2 table
spoons butter. Add gar
lic, cook 30 seconds.
Add mushrooms and
cook several minutes.
Add wine and cook
until wine is absorbed
and mushrooms are
soft, about 5 minutes.
Season with salt
and pepper.
Add remaining 4
tablespoons butter and
when it is melted, add
flour, stirring well for 2
to 3 minutes. Slowly
add chicken (or turkey)
broth, whisking until no
lumps remain. Simmer
until thickened, about 5
minutes. Season with
salt and pepper.
Stir in the turkey,
cheese, peas, and orega
no. Add cooked spa
ghetti, tossing well.
Season with salt and
pepper. Pour into pre
pared dish. In a small
bowl, combine panko,
Parmesan, and oil. Top
baking dish evenly with
the panko mixture. Bake
until top is golden and
cheese is melted, about
30 minutes.
This recipe is more of
a guide than anything.
Feel free to add whatev
er leftovers seem to fit.
Maybe you had fresh
herbs you used for gar
nishes—chop them up
and toss them in the
soup. Don’t have shell
noodles on hand?
Substitute a different
shape of pasta, or use
rice.
Turkey Soup
• 1 tablespoon olive
oil
• 1 tablespoon but
ter
• 1 onion, diced
• 2 tablespoons
flour
• 3 carrots, peeled
and diced
• 2 stalks celery,
diced
• 3 cups cooked
turkey, chopped
• 8 cups turkey or
chicken broth
• 1 teaspoon poul
try seasoning
• Vi teaspoon onion
powder
• Vi teaspoon garlic
powder
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 teaspoon salt
• Vi teaspoon pep
per
• 1 Vi cups shell
noodles
2 tablespoons parsley,
minced
In a soup pot, add
olive oil and butter.
Cook onions until very
soft, 10 minutes.
Sprinkle on the flour,
stirring to combine. Add
carrots, and celery,
cooking a minute or so.
Slowly add turkey or
chicken broth, whisking
to combine. Add cooked
turkey, poultry season
ing, onion
powder, garlic pow
der, bay leaf, salt and
pepper. Bring to a boil
and then simmer for 15
minutes. Add noodles
and boil for another
10-12 minutes, until
pasta is tender and
cooked. Taste for sea
soning, adding more if
needed. Discard bay
leaf. Stir in parsley.
I’m very thankful its not
Thanksgiving last year
RONDARICH
Columnist
Thanksgiving last year.
It stills feels like a piece
of dry turkey stuck some
where near my heart.
Upfront, know it isn’t
all THAT bad. No one
dies. A dog doesn’t get
sick and a beautiful cen
tury-old tree doesn’t
uproot for no reason at
all.
But it added enormous
worry, follow-up, and
work to my Thanksgiving
and it could have all been
avoided.
Weeks before the holi
day meal that I have host
ed for 27 years for two
dozen people, it became
obvious that it would be a
Thanksgiving like no
other. I even began to
imagine peanut butter and
jelly sandwiches shared
by just Tink and me at the
kitchen table.
My precious aunt,
Kathleen, had open heart
surgery (when the signs
of the moon were perfect
ly aligned for a quick
healing) so she wasn’t
coming. In addition to
being one of my favorite
people, she always calls
and asks “What can I
bring?”
“Orange salad and
sweet potato casserole.”
“Oh,” she’ll say in a
tone indicating the silli
ness of my answer. “I can
bring much more than
THAT.”
And she does. It takes
three trips for her and
Richard to tote in the
food. I used to protest
that she shouldn’t do so
much. Finally, years ago,
I quit and just enjoyed it.
With Aunt Kathleen
down for the count, two
joyous faces and lots of
dishes would be missing.
Another happy spirit, my
brother-in-law, Rodney,
had been in the hospital
critically ill. A few days
from the holiday, he came
home but he’d be recover
ing for a few more weeks.
Not wishing to spread
as much as a sneeze, we
halted a Thanksgiving
tradition that I thought
would last until the good
Lord calls me home. The
Bible, though, warns: do
not boast of what you will
do tomorrow for no man
(or Thanksgiving host)
knows.
We canceled.
When I realized that
those two households
would be without
Thanksgiving - my sister
was sick, too - I decided
it was time to do the
Christian thing. What the
Baptists are renowned
for: carrying food to the
ill and the bereaved.
I made a list that
included all the necessi
ties: turkey breast for
each household, dressing,
gravy, creamed potatoes,
macaroni and cheese,
green peas, sweet potato
casserole, homemade bis
cuits, and pumpkin pie.
When an ad from the
chain store, Williams
Sonoma, popped up in
my in-box with photos of
scrumptious food and
begging me to let them
help, I decided to do just
that.
“You’re not going to
believe what I did,” I said
to Tink over coffee the
next morning. “I ordered
pies and sausage dressing
from Williams Sonoma.”
“Good.”
He doesn’t understand
that I was raised in a
“from scratch” family.
We don’t use store bought
pies for big occasions and
we would never trust our
turkey dressing (yes, I
know that the sophisti
cates call it “stuffing” but
that’s not us) to outside
sources. For both pride
and cost. It was ridicu
lously expensive.
Over the next three
weeks, I kept getting
updates as to when the
food would arrive. Five
days before
Thanksgiving, I was wor
ried. A call to Williams
Sonoma, after a 30-min
ute wait, assured me it
would all arrive in time.
Another call on
Tuesday.
Four calls on
Wednesday.
“It’s en route,” a super
visor assured me. “It will
arrive by end of the day. I
promise.”
At 6 p.m., with no
deliveries made, I headed
to the grocery store. I
cooked until 11 p.m. that
night. The Williams
Sonoma orders never
arrived.
On Thanksgiving Day, I
made my normal call to
my dear friend Walt
Ehmer, President of
Waffle House, who
spends the day cleaning
tables and washing dishes
at various WHs. I told
him of my upset.
“Why,” he asked, “did
you not call me? Waffle
House is known for our
pies. We could have fixed
you right up.”
That’s the call I plan to
make this year.
Ronda Rich is the best-sell
ing author of There's A
Better Day A-Comin'. Visit
www.rondarich.com to sign
up for her free weekly
newsletter.
Like my husband says, 'Just be thankful'
“Just be thankful.” That
was my husband’s gentle
reminder that there was a
lot to be grateful for in the
midst of a recent little
thunderclap of life.
This time, the storm in
question was the hot water
heater going out last week.
Lamar’s words were in response to
my frustrated rant.
“I’d really like it if things would be
peaceful and calm and not some crisis
for a while. It’s always something. I’d
like to just have everything go right —
is that too much to ask?”
Lamar listened, like he always does,
then gently said, “Just be thankful.”
I sighed.
“I am thankful, Lamar. I am. But
you know as well as I do, it would be
nice to not have to deal with something
for a change.”
He nodded. “We’ve got a lot to be
thankful for though.”
I sighed again. “I know that.”
And, I do.
As we head into Thanksgiving cele
brations this week, it’s a time for peo
ple to pause and reflect for all they’re
thankful for, and I do try to practice
gratitude daily. Some days, particularly
lately, it’s been increasingly harder to
find those things I’m thankful for.
It has felt like there has been one cri
sis, one heartbreak, one nightmare
after another recently.
Being told to just be thankful, even
when it comes from someone with no
ill intent like my husband, usually riles
me every so slightly.
I am thankful, dangit.
It made me feel as if he was calling
me ungrateful by telling me to just be
thankful.
But there is something so simplistic,
yet profound, in the act of gratitude.
By being thankful, I am not focusing
on what I don’t have, but rather what I
do.
Some of the things I have maybe
fussed about recently were things I
prayed for years ago.
I’ve often wondered how that sits
with the Big Guy in the sky; I beg,
plead, negotiate for things, only to get
them and proceed to fuss endlessly.
I wonder how often we do that --
pray for things, want our situations to
change, and then when they do, we
still aren’t happy and complain.
Knowing how guilty I am of that, it
made me pause and wonder. I’ve
prayed to get certain jobs in the past,
then when they were not
exactly how I expected
them to be, I complained.
I’ve wanted a certain
vehicle -- nothing fancy,
mind you; I could care less
about what I drive -- and
hated it after I got it. Hated
the monthly payment, hated how it
didn’t drive as smoothly as I wanted it
to, even though when I got it, I cheer
fully said, “I’ve wanted one of these
for years!”
Lamar’s gentle admonition reminded
me that even in the midst of those pain
points, there can be so much to be
thankful for.
I was frustrated about needing a new
hot water heater; but thankful that we
could get one and that the plumber
could come out that afternoon to
replace it. I was thankful that while
they were here, they also saw another
pipe that needed fixing and took care
of that, too.
My patience had been worn thin by
trying to help Mama deal with some
people — not by her, but by the fact
the people were being downright
unhelpful and rude. Despite my aggra
vation, I was glad I was able to help
her.
There’s always dishes to wash and
something to clean, but that means
we’ve got food to eat and we’re all
home.
I know, too, that things can be so dif
ferent and change in the blink of an
eye. That point has knocked the wind
out of me within the last few months.
Despite knowing all of this, those
moments of ill content still creep in.
It’s not a matter of taking anything for
granted; I definitely appreciate all I
have.
It’s just a simple matter of some
times, life can happen and make us
take our eyes off all the things we’re
grateful for, and make it hard to see
what all we have, just as quickly as it
can take those things away.
Maybe the beauty of this week is to
help us slow down and focus on that
gratitude for all we have. The family,
the love, and all the craziness that gets
thrown our way. And an opportunity in
the words of my normally quiet hus
band, to just be thankful.
Sudie Crouch is an award winning humor
columnist and author of the recently e-pub-
lished novel, "The Dahlman Files: A Tony
Dahlman Paranormal Mystery."
SUDIE CROUCH
Columnist
