Leftover turkey recipe: Turkey shepherd's pie

I have a rule...never ever throw out food, leftovers are the best! You either don't have to cook the next day or you get to experiment and make something new.

For christmas we had a turkey breast and had a ton left over so we had turkey sandwiches galore this week, and I decided to make something new for dinner. 

Ingredients: (new or leftovers)

- Turkey (cut into bite size pieces)

- Vegetables

- Gravy

- Optional: fresh parsley and thyme finely chopped

- Mashed potatoes

- Optional: 1 egg white

- Parmesan cheese

**I don't have the measurements because they are leftovers plus when it comes to cooking I kind of guess everything and don't follow the cookbook unless it's necessary like baking 

Preheat oven to 350F

First up is heating up the leftover gravy. In my case I had to run to the store and grab some vegetable broth (way cheaper than turkey...but any broth will do) because my husband dropped the gravy and had a big mess to clean up on our kitchen floor!

Then add the vegetables...we had a medley of corn, peas and carrots from the birds eye steam in a bag. Stir in the turkey and the parsley and thyme (1 tbs of each)

**Parsley and thyme can be dried or fresh. Fresh is technically better for taste but if you're like me and are on a budget go for dried or none at all! The only reason I had it in the house is because I got it for a special occasion dinner, christmas.

Once everything is stirred in pour the mixture in a baking dish. 

Next up is the mashed potatoes. I had sweet potatoes, all you need to do is add a hand full of parmesan cheese (as desired) and season with salt and pepper, I also added a pinch of paprika! The next step is optional, whisk 1 egg white until stiff peaks form and fold into the mashed potatoes. This gives is a fluffy light texture that is way worth the extra work!

Spoon the potatoes over the turkey mixture and place in the oven for around 30 minutes, or until the mixture is heated through (it will bubble).

So we were so excited to eat we forgot to take a picture of the finished product!

Yet here is the link to the recipe that I adapted to myself. 

http://www.leaveahappyplate.com/2013/03/turkey-shephards-pie-topped-with-best.html

What makes this recipe an extra A** is that we had leftover shepherd's pie = more time for me to work on other things! I love turning one meal into three!

DIY lap desk

So for this christmas I decided to make all homemade gifts! Yeah it was scary but saved me a ton of money!

This gift is a belated christmas/birthday present for my father-in-law. Since we didn't see my in-laws this christmas we are spending a week with them in Disney world in January so they will get their presents then!

This seemed like it would be a hard project but it wasn't! It literally took me at the most 30 minutes. Also it only cost me $8 to make (most of the stuff I had lying around the house)!!

So here is what you need:

- A piece of wood (type and thickness if up to you)

- Foam

- Fabric and some ribbon

- Hot glue gun

- Stapler

- Adhesive spray 

Let's get started!

First off for the wood, I got a bargain at the thrift store and found this beauty for $6 when I was expecting to get a nightstand to cut up!

I then got some "memory foam" from Walmart (yeah don't be fooled it isn't real memory foam). Any foam will do, it just happens that I had some lying around from another project. You don't need a lot, just enough to cover the wood and leave an inch border. 

I doubled up on my foam but you can decide on the thickness you would like. I then sprayed my wood and pressed the foam in place. Warning: do not spray in the house! I laid down some paper and still had to scrub my floors after (I didn't fancy going outside in the snow).

The next step is stapling the fabric to the wood.
**Since this is for my father-in-law I couldn't use all of the flowery fabric I have so I went hunting around the house and found this wash cloth! It was perfect because our family loves Disney!

To do this lay it on top of the foam making sure that the fabric covers the foam and can attach to the edges of the wood. Start off with one side and then pull (as tightly as desire, I recommend to pull pretty tight for security). Having a buddy for this part can be helpful, pull the opposite side and staple. 

TIP: Leave a couple of inches at the corners, trust me it will make your life easier

Do the same method for the remaining sides. Then for the corners you can make a fold with the fabric or do it like me and have a rounded corner. All I did was pull tightly, a corner at a time and staple (a lot!).

Then cut off the excess...and your almost done!

Lastly grab your ribbon and hot glue gun. I got a ribbon that was wide enough to cover the staples and reach the edge of the wood. I hot glue gunned 2-3 inches at a time and place the ribbon over (careful it's hot). 

For the corners I experimented with folding the ribbon over and I liked the effect so I rolled with it...you can do it however you would like though! Then fold the edges of the ribbon in (so you don't have frayed edges) once you have made a full cycle and it's complete!

All about me

Hey my name is Hannah Pottle and I live in Rexburg Idaho with my husband. I'm originally from England and I decided that I wanted an adventure so I travelled across seas to study at BYU-Idaho! (Yeah everyone always says why Idaho...why not?!)

My first semester I told my group of friends that I was not going to seriously date anyone over here, because I wanted to go back home to England after I got my degree and get a job, then get married and settle down. Yeah the problem with that plan is that there was a young man in that group that thought to himself "Challenge!" Long story short, we dated, got engaged, and we are happily married! 

We are both very goofy and complete dorks, it's more fun that way. We love anything Disney, food, or anything that makes us happy!

I love being a homemaker and making craft projects and creating recipes so I figured I would document them on a blog! My husband and I are both students so you can imagine I have learned to be very frugal.

This kind of sums me up so keep reading if you want to know the tips and tricks I have!