With Thanksgiving right around the corner, I thought it’d be a great time to give you a cool idea to make your meal special.
Unfortunately, I had a terrible lapse of judgment and did a two-page Thanksgiving blow out last year. So, I was kind of out of ideas this year. Luckily, shortsightedness is the mother of invention.
Last year’s Thanksgiving special was comprehensive, in the traditional sense. But when your readers are mostly college kids, they may not be looking to make a huge meal for 20 people. So this year, I’ve created what I affectionately call a Thanksgiving Cupcake. Don’t worry, it’s yummy despite its slightly epic meal time-esque name.
In a nutshell, the Thanksgiving Cupcake is an open-top pot pie with a stuffing crust and sweet and savory filling. It’s perhaps the single best idea anyone has ever had. I’ve never claimed to be humble.
One great thing about this recipe is that it’s versatile. You can swap out the meats and veggies. You can also exchange the sweet potato for any other potato or even mac and cheese. Feel free to trade out chicken for turkey, ham or even beef. Pick any of your Thanksgiving favorites and pour them in the crusts.
Although presented as an alternative to larger Thanksgiving feasts, I actually created it to get rid of your leftovers. If you make it fresh, you might need to add a beaten raw egg or two to make stuffing crust form properly. Since everyone’s stuffing is different, I can’t give you specifics. Also, depending on the size of your muffin, cupcake or loaf tins, you may have to adjust the ingredients.
DETAILS
Prep time – 10 minutes (45 minutes fresh)
Cook time – 30 minutes
Servings – 6
Serving size – 1 cupcake
Calories per – 407
Net carbs per – 61.8g
INGREDIENTS
6 cups corn bread stuffing
1 cup veggies
1 1/2 cups mashed sweet potato
2 cups cooked chicken
1 1/2 cups gravy
PROCEDURE
1. Preheat your oven to 350 F.
2. Grease your tins and press your stuffing into the muffin tins with a spoon or your fingers. Make sure to keep the crust about 1/4 inch in thickness.
4. Bake the crusts for about 10 minutes or longer if cold. The crust should be slightly crispy.
5. Prepare your ingredients for assembly: chop the chicken into tiny pieces and drain any liquid from the veggies, combine the veggies and chicken, pour 1 cup gravy into veggies and chicken, toss to combine.
6. Once the crusts are done, assemble your cupcakes: scoop 1/4 cup of mashed sweet potatoes in each crust, fill with chicken and gravy mixture.
7. Put the cupcakes in the oven and bake until warmed thoroughly. Serve with remaining gravy, if desired.
