Cleaning out the Freezer Pie

In anticipation of a big load of meat coming in next week, plus the fact that we couldn't tell which trash bags were holding cat food and which were holding people food, I cleaned out the freezer. In the process, I found some leftover turkey and gravy from Thanksgiving 2007. Realized I had some leftover puff pastry from Christmas, so didn't even need to make a piecrust from scratch. So. Made some most excellent pot pie with very little pain.
Mis en place above shows everything I used except the pots and pans. The "baggies" on the right in the background are the frozen bags of leftover gravy.

Recipe:

As always, be creative! If you don't have gravy, make a roux with stock. Don't have turkey? Use any kind of meat. Just tailor your gravy/stock/roux accordingly.

Generic Pot Pie
Serves 4 as single-dish meal

2 c cooked meat (I used turkey)
2 c gravy or roux (I used turkey gravy)
2 - 3 c total vegetables (I didn't have any leftovers so used fresh broccoli, carrots, mushrooms, and onion)
enough pastry for a 9" - 10" double crust pie (I used frozen puff pastry)

Dice the vegetables if using fresh and steam 8 - 10 minutes until cooked. Run under cold water to stop the cooking process.

If using frozen veggies, run under warm water until at room temperature. If using leftovers, be sure they are in a suitable dice.

Line an 8" or 9" square casserole with 1/2 - 2/3 of the pastry. Ladle in the veggies (see above). Grate a generous amount of pepper over. If you are using an otherwise unseasoned roux, season to taste. If you are using seasoned gravy or stock, just let it stand alone.

Heat the gravy in a saucepan. If making roux use a standard 2T flour+2T fat+2c milk or stock ratio. Once the roux is thickening or the gravy is hot, add the meat. Stir to combine. Pour over the veggies.This shows it, ready to be covered.

Cover the entire thing with the rest of the piecrust. Crimp the edges securely. Cut vents.

Bake 25 minutes or until you can't stand the wonderful smell permeating your house!

Eating notes:

Ultimate comfort food. Beloved by humans and cats. Worthy of adulation and praise.

The upper crust is all crunchy and the lower crust gets mushy absorbing all the pie-like goodness. People who don't like soggy bread-things should just eliminate the lower crust. Grease the casserole and pour in the ingredients, then put the crust on top. Sort of like a shepherd's pie but with piecrust instead of potatoes.