Need an Idea for Turkey Leftovers?? ((Turkey & Bacon filled Puff Pastry Cups))

The other day, I slow-roasted a turkey breast with the single goal of having enough leftovers to try out a “turkey leftover recipe”. I have been daydreaming about leftover recipes for a few weeks. Is that weird? Probably, but that is just what I do.

For this leftover recipe, I used a few “special” ingredients to make your diners think this meal is far from “Left-OVER”.

First, puff pastry. What else can I say about that? Buttery, crisp heaven. Your family will think “the chef has arrived!”.

Next, cream cheese. Cream cheese is like butter – it makes everything better!

Last, bacon. Last is certainly not least in this case…mmm, bacon!

In addition to these rock star ingredients, we have the equally important back-up singers:

• yummy and tangy, shredded ((by hand please)) sharp cheddar.
• fresh chopped chives
• 1 to 1½ cups of frozen mixed veggies

Oh and of course, leftover chopped roasted turkey.

Chop the bacon & the chives, dice the turkey and dump all of the ingredients ((except the puff pastry)) into a bowl and stir to combine.

An important tip in working with puff pastry is to think ahead ((40 minutes or so before you need to put dinner in the oven)) and thaw the puff pastry according to package instructions. Puff pastry is not difficult to work with IF you follow the ((simple)) instructions outlined on the puff pastry package.

Once the puff pastry ((I am tempted to abbreviate the words puff pastry but I don’t think I should be talking about PP in a food blog – so I will leave the name as is, yeehaw)) is thawed, cut each sheet into 6 even pieces, as pictured above. Roll out each individual piece and place in prepared muffin tin.

At this point, all of the pastry is just begging to stay cool and be shoved into a very hot preheated oven ((450°)). So it is important to move quickly in filling each cup.

The trick to filling quickly: a baking scoop. The scoop is such a handy kitchen tool — I heart the scoop.

Within a minute, the magic has happened – the puff pastry cups are full and a yummy dinner is imminent.

At this point, the goal is to achieve a perfect puffed crispy cup and steamy & gooey insides. In order to accomplish these objectives, you must place the muffin tin on the middle rack ((not middle high)) of a preheated hot ((450°)) oven, allow the cups to bake at that high temp for 8-10 minutes and then reduce the temp to 400° for the remainder of the cooking time ((15-18 minutes)).

Peek in on the baking beauties to make sure they are not getting too dark. If they are verging on dark – lower your rack and reduce the temp to 350°. If you see the slight bubble of the cheese you know everything is ready to be served.

Dinner is served.