Leftover Turkey Cobbler with Garlicky Cheese Biscuits!



Have you had enough of a break from turkey?   Ready to break it out of the freezer, and give it new life?!  This fantastic one dish meal is another one of our family faves, it works just as well with leftover chicken, as it does with turkey.  My daughter calls it "that chicken - turkey mush dish", which doesn't make it sound all that appetizing, but she LOVES this mush.  I even have to monitor how much she takes from the casserole dish, to make sure there is enough for everyone, lest she gobble the whole thing down!  Sloane requests this dish so often in fact, that I'll even roast a chicken over the weekend, just to have the leftovers during the week to make this cobbler for her.

This cobbler is filled with a load of veg, it could even be a crisper clean out!  Add a few other pantry staples, such as a can of cream based soup, cream of chicken, mushroom, or celery, I don't think one over the other would make a huge difference, use whatever you have on hand. 

One additional step to this recipe is the garlic butter. I always keep a small container of garlic butter pre-prepared in my fridge, which can be a small, but significant, time saver for crazy week night meal prep.

 To have your garlic butter on the ready, just take a quarter to a half cup of softened butter, and then add a couple cloves of minced or crushed garlic cloves.  If you are using unsalted butter, give a dash of salt, and then give it a good stir.  Ta-da!  Garlic Butter! 

Leftover Turkey Cobbler with Garlicky Cheese Biscuits

Recipe Adapted From: Dinner With Julie

1-2 Tablespoons canola oil, for pan

1 onion, chopped

1-2 carrot, peeled and chopped

2 celery stalks (& leaves), chopped

2 Tablespoons butter

2 cups sliced mushrooms

2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

1/4 teaspoon dried sage

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1 can water

4 cups chopped leftover turkey

3/4 cup frozen peas

Biscuits

2 cups flour

1 Tablespoon baking powder

1 Tablespoons sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup milk

1/4 cup canola oil

2 Tablespoons garlic butter, melted

1 cup grated cheddar cheese, or cheese of your choosing

In a large pan, using medium-high heat, add the oil, and allow to warm, before adding the onion, carrot and celery.  Give it a stir every once and a while, cooking for about 5 minutes.   Add to the pan both the butter and mushrooms.   Cook the mushrooms, until they release their liquid, the vegetables will also get brown and caramely from the butter.  Add to pan the flour and thyme, toss to coat the veg and cook for another minute.  Stir in the can of soup followed by a full can of water, scrape up all the browned yummy bits from the bottom of the pan as you stir, until soup is fully incorporated.   Bring to a simmer and cook for about 5 minutes, until thickened - feel free to add more water, if you find it’s too thick.  Stir in the chopped turkey and peas, give it a stir, and then pour the whole mixture into a large casserole dish.

Preheat the oven to 400°F, while you prepare your biscuits.  Melt the garlic butter and set aside.

To make the biscuits: In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, sugar and salt. Add the milk and canola oil and gently stir, just until you have a soft dough.

On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough into a large rectangle. Brush or spread the melted garlic butter over the dough, then sprinkle generously with cheese. Roll tightly jelly-roll style into a log. Cut the log into 8-12 biscuits, and lay the biscuits on top of the turkey mixture, allowing space in between the biscuits for expansion during baking.  Bake for 30-40 minutes, until the the biscuits are puffed and golden brown and filling is bubbly.  I have gotten in the habit of removing the biscuits in the last 10 minutes, and placing them back into the oven on a cookie sheet, so they get a more caramelized and firmer bottom, you can skip this step if you find they're cooked to your liking.  Allow the turkey mix to stand while the biscuits bake.  Allow the biscuit to cool slightly, and then serve it all up with a big beautiful salad!

Enjoy!