½poundground turkey (minced turkey) - turkey breast
4slicesbacon - maple or smoked bacon, minced
1smallsweet potato - or yam, minced
1mediumwhite onion - minced
1stalkcelery - minced
1packetturkey gravy - follow instructions on the packet
1packetbiscuit dough - or puff pastry tops the ramekin
1pinchsalt - added while cooking
1pinchground black pepper
1teaspoonground cumin - added to the gravy
½teaspoonground cinnamon - added to the gravy
Instructions
Gather and prepare all your ingredients ahead of time. You will also need 2 medium-sized ramekins (for 2 individual servings) or one large ramekin or oven-safe casserole dish for a multi-serving pie.
Brown your turkey and bacon together. They will take about the same amount of time to cook, and you can use the leftover fat for cooking your vegetables in the same pan. When you see some golden brown color forming on the turkey, and your bacon is becoming crisp, they are ready. Divide the meat between your 2 ramekins, and use the same pan for your veggies next.
Add your vegetables all at once to the hot pan, still containing some of the bacon and turkey fat. Add some salt and pepper to your veggies as you cook them. The veggies will reduce a little, and when the onions are becoming clear, and the sweet potatoes are fully cooked through, you can then divide your veggies between the 2 ramekins. This will almost fill the bowls – make sure you leave a little room for gravy and puff pastry.
In a separate pot, follow the instructions on your gravy packet and make the gravy. We added our cinnamon and cumin spices right in with the gravy mix – it will smell amazing as it thickens!
When the gravy is thickened and ready, pour the gravy into the ramekins until the gravy reaches the top layer of vegetables. Give the ramekins a little tap on the counter to make sure that there are no air pockets.
Open your puff pastry (or biscuit dough – both will do) and unroll it (or roll it out with a rolling pin if that is what the package tells you to do). You can cover each ramekin like a little pie, leaving a small amount of dough hanging over the edge. Make sure you leave a few holes for steam to escape. Place your dough-covered ramekins on a cookie sheet to bake.
Preheat your oven to the temperature required to cook the pastry dough. This is usually somewhere between 350°F-400°F, depending on what kind of dough you are using. Bake the pies long enough for the pastry to become golden and crispy. When the “lid” is done, the pies are ready!