'Twas a Crock Pot Christmas... Recipe: Lazy-Cheater Turkey Ala King (with a Holiday Twist!)

Hubs and I have been busy "sharing" a head-cold back-and-forth.  "Sharing is Caring" and all of that, right?!

On top of that, Hubs had some dental work done, recently, which is interfering with his ability to eat traditional holiday treats.  So my original idea of cooking a standing rib roast in the Big Easy outdoor cooker kinda got nixed.

So yeah, I'm sniffling and sneezing and - to be honest - I wasn't really relishing the idea of being chained to the kitchen for HOURS on Christmas day.  Hubs sounded rather dismayed when I announced that I wasn't planning on any kind of huge Holiday Feast, but I assured him that I would come up with *something!*

And *something* included a trip to Boston Market for a "Family Meal" of Turkey (+ sides), and a pre-cooked bone-in turkey breast from the grocery store (from the deli - near the hot rotisserie chickens).  I bought these items yesterday, and just kept 'em in the fridge for preparation on Christmas Day.

Here's what I came up with:

Turkey Ala King in the Crock Pot

QT's Lazy-Cheater Turkey ala King (with a Holiday Twist) over Patty Shells
Yield: I don't know yet, but probably enough for at least 4 people!
Update: This made a boatload of Turkey-Stewy-Stuff - Figure it'll serve 8+ (plan on 2-3 Patty-Shells, per person)

Ingredients:

• Appx 25 oz. of turkey breast meat (I honestly didn't measure - but I used all of the meat from the "rotisserie" turkey and most of the meat from Boston Market* (kept a few slices for turkey sandwiches, later!).
• 2 stalks of celery
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• 1 TBS extra virgin olive oil
• 1 can of Cream of Chicken Soup
• 1 can Cream of Celery Soup
• 1 can Cream of Mushroom Soup
• 1 can of Chicken (or Turkey) Gravy
• dash or three of Bell's Turkey Seasoning (or whatever poultry seasoning you have - I'm partial to Bell's because it's heavy on sage and tastes like "Thanksgiving!")
• 1/2 c Craisins (That's the "Holiday Twist!")
• 1/4 cup cooking sherry
• 1/4-1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1 - 10 oz package frozen peas/corn
• 2 packages Puffed Pastry Shells (or serve over rice or noodles)

*Notes on Boston Market - I don't know if it's "just me" or if their stuff really is super-salty!  I would be inclined to stick with low-sodium soups if I was using *just* Boston Market Turkey.  I still ended up adding 2 tsp of Splenda to cut-down on the saltiness of the sauce.

Instructions:

1. I started by sauteing the chopped onion and celery, lightly, in olive oil - just enough to get 'em limp and translucent, then I plopped 'em into the crock pot.
2. Then I chopped the turkey meat into 3/4" chunks, added that to the crock pot as well...
3. Next, I dumped everything else - except for the cream and frozen veggies - into the crock pot and cooked it on low for ~2 hours.  Just enough to warm everything up - then I switched it to "Keep Warm" (since I really don't need to "cook" the meat any further!).  It sat there on "warm" for most of the day (I'd say roughly 3-4 hours), 'til we were ready for dinner (and THIS is why I love-love-love my crock pot!)
4. Appx 30 minutes before serving, I will add the frozen veggies and cream, and switch the crock-pot to High while I bake the Patty Shells (Pepperidge Farm Puffed Pastry Shells from the freezer section of the store - near the pie crusts and Phyllo dough).

After that, we shall eat (hopefully I can snap a picture first!).  I think this will be a tasty meal - on it's own - but we've also got the Boston Market side-dishes to nosh on.

I'll report back later on...  After we've eaten!

Update: Dinner was delicious!  The Turkey Ala King was a good, tasty, stick-to-your-ribs kinda meal.  I might bump-up the Craisins to get a little more Holiday "Zing" next time - but overall, it was quite yummy!

Whoa! Two posts in one day?!  Merry Christmas!!!

Update (again!!) Dec 26:  Oh. Em. Gee!  Something amazing happened to the dish, after it spent the night in the fridge.  The flavors have melded so very nicely (which means I take-back the comment about adding more Craisins! It's totally not necessary!).  The only downside to eating it as leftovers - is that the peas and carrots have started to look like they've been cooked to death...

So - what adjustments would I make for next time?!  Ohhh, I think I'd do everything the same - making the King-Gloop a day early, but I wouldn't add the frozen peas/carrots or cream until just before serving.  So yeah, make the gloop a day early, refrigerate overnight, then re-heat (stove top or crock-pot) and add the froz veggies/cream 30 minutes before serving...

Annnnd...  Since we have an abundance of leftover gloop (and Hubs has an aversion to eating leftovers), I suspect there will be a Turkey Pot Pie in our future!