Pastry Pockets with Turkey, Sweet Potato and Cranberry (Thanksgiving Leftovers)

Everyone puts so much thought into their Thanksgiving holiday menu. I’m one of those people. However, do you bother to think about what to do with all the leftovers? It’s a real thing to worry about especially if your family does an about-face and decides they never want to see turkey or all the fixings again after the gluttony of the holiday has passed. After I started hosting our family’s Canadian Thanksgiving, I quickly realized I needed a plan for my family’s blatant rejection of our leftovers. Not only did I need a strategy for all the miles of air-tight containers I had piled up in my frig, but I also needed to make them look like they weren’t leftovers. Obviously, the fact I need to disguise leftovers makes my family bad people. I mean aren’t these the kind of leftovers we look forward to all year?

The obvious leftover idea is a grilled cheese and, believe me, I throw those together like it’s my job, but you need more than grilled bread and melted cheese up your sleeve if you’re going to please my people. So other than throwing my stuffing into the waffle maker (have your tried it? It’s awesome!) or creating a turkey pot pie, these pockets of puffiness are great for gobbling up the rest of your fixings. You can really add anything to these but I love the combination of sweet potato, turkey and cranberry sauce. However, no one will be angry if you toss in leftover stuffing, a vegetable (I’ve used Brussel sprouts) or potato. I buy a package of puff pastry in the frozen food section and whip up the pockets for dinner and, wait for it, school lunches. If you don’t use the cranberry sauce in the pockets be sure to use it on the side for dipping or, better yet, use gravy.

If you have leftovers, I hope you give these parcels a try. If you only have pie leftovers, please contact me directly so I can help you with that issue, especially if it’s pumpkin. Happy Thanksgiving, friends.

Thanksgiving Leftovers

Laura

These easy pockets will gobble up Thanksgiving leftoveres. Use them for dinner or school lunches. In fact, use this quick-to-assemble pockets for any dinner leftovers.

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Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 20 minutes mins

Total Time 30 minutes mins

Course Main Course

Cuisine American

Servings 4

Ingredients

  

• 2 rolls frozen puff pastry defrosted and cut into four even squares
• 1/2 cup leftover sweet potato, stuffing, potato, greens
• 1/2 cup sliced turkey
• 1/4 cup cranberry sauce
• 1 egg beaten

Instructions

 

• 1. Defrost your puff pastry according to package directions.

  2. Cut each sheet into four squares.

  3. On one side, put a tablespoon of cranberry sauce, a heaping tablespoon of sweet potato and 2 to 3 slices of turkey. Sprinkle with pepper. Don't over stuff.

  4. Place the bare pastry square over top of the turkey. Using a fork's tongs, press down on the edges to seal the pastry. Brush the tops with egg wash and slice a single air vent into the top.

  5. Bake in the oven according to pastry package directions, about 25 minutes until pastry is cooked and golden brown. Store in the refrigerator in an air tight container for 2 – 3 days.
  

Notes

My frozen puff pastry comes with two large sheets so I can make four pastry pockets. Also, you don’t need to heat the leftovers since baking the pastry will do that work for you. In fact, it’s best not to put warm leftovers on the buttery pastry.