Brielle's Avalon

So the chicken soup leftovers won’t stretch another meal and are getting a bit thick and mushy, or you have some leftover chicken but not enough for a family meal…what to do, what to do…? Make pot pies! They’re great for lunch or if everyone’s out for dinner and you’re on your own it’s a nice, comforting dinner, especially if it’s cold or rainy out. Mmm, a nice evening by the fire with a book, tea, pot pie (it doesn’t actually have to be chicken), and maybe a couple cookies for dessert.

If you’re starting with leftover chicken, make a quick but of stew with some chopped onion, celery, carrot, peas, potato or any leftover veg you happen to have. Today I used some mushrooms because I happened to have them. Add chicken or any meat you happen to have handily left over. Make a roux (heat 2 Tbsp oil in a pan with 2 Tbsp flour, let it turn golden to take the raw taste away) and mix it into a gravy with the soup/stew liquid then mix it back into the soup/stew to make it nicely thick. If your stew is already the right consistency you can skip this and if your soup is too soupy you may have to let it cook down a bit.

When it’s ready make into a pot pie or 2 let it cool while you make the biscuits or pie crust. If you only have to pull a package or tube out of the fridge, that’s OK too. That’s what I did today because it’s what I had.

I buttered a plate so I could stretch them out together on it before putting them in as a crust. Depending on the size and shape of your (improvised) pie pan you’ll probably need more than 1 biscuit for the bottom. Just overlap them and press them together as you push them into a rough shape. Once you have the bottom in press it well up the sides and over the edge. If you butter the pan too well the crust probably won’t stick to the top edges, but you can work on that later.

Now that the bottom is formed fill the pie with the thick stew and press/stretch a biscuit out to form the top.

Lay the top on the pie and pinch the edges together with the sides before poking holes in the top to let out steam.

Bake at 350 for 20 minutes or so, until the crust is as golden or brown as you like.

Serve with the beverage of your choice, maybe a salad on the side and something yummy for dessert.