How to Make a Pot Pie out of any Leftovers

 

I had a quantity of leftover cooked turkey left over from the holiday meal along with an assortment of veggies, stuffing and gravy.  One thing which we always loved when we were growing up was that our mother would make dinner sized pot pies from the leftovers of most holiday meals.  

My father was not fond of leftovers of any kind, so if she could present them as something completely different, he was happier about it, and, like all of us, he loved a savory pie more than anything else.

The nice thing is that you can make a pot pie out of just about any leftovers that you have in the kitchen.  Any kind of protein, vegetables, gravy, etc.  And if, like me, you always keep ready rolled puff pastry in the freezer, this automatically becomes even easier to do!

 

This pot pie recipe I am sharing with you today is for a single crust pot pie.  Everything just gets layered in the pie dish and the puff pastry lid goes on top.   Baked for a short in a hot oven, you end up with a pie that everyone will love and that you can just spoon out to serve, making sure that everyone gets a nice piece of that lovely flaky puff pastry topping!

No puff pastry?  Make a simple biscuit/scone topping. You can even use Bisquick.  I have also used a box of corn muffin mix, stirred together as per the recipe and poured that over top. This is especially nice with pork or ham.

The important thing is that this is easy to make and tastes delicious. Nobody will be complaining about having leftovers!

 

WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE A POT PIE OUT OF ANY LEFTOVERS

Essentially some pastry and some leftovers!

• 1 sheet of all butter puff pastry
• 1 mug of leftover gravy, heated through
• 2 mugs of leftover protein, cubed into bite sized pieces
• 2 mugs of leftover cooked vegetables (see notes)
• salt and pepper to season
• 1 egg yolk beaten together with1 tsp water

 

I used one sheet of frozen all-butter puff pastry, thawed.  They come two sheets in a box here. Presidents' choice is the brand I use.

The mug that I used held about 1 cup of ingredients, cubed, or cut into small pieces. I cannot tell you the grams.  Just use a decent sized coffee mug.

My pie was a turkey pie and so I added a layer of stuffing to the bottom. This actually crisped up very nicely on the bottom of the pie and tasted really good. It did not get soggy.

This was topped with a layer of cubed potatoes, then the turkey and finally some mixed cooked vegetables.

If you don't have any gravy left, you can use instant gravy powder to make 1 cup of gravy.  

With ham you could use a white sauce.  This also works for leftover fish, tuna, salmon, etc.

 

HOW TO MAKE A POT PIE OUT OF ANY LEFTOVERS

So simple you could do this with your eyes closed.  Use the same mug to measure out all of your ingredients. Mine was a coffee mug which held a generous cup.

Preheat your oven to 375*F/190*C/ gas mark 5. Have ready an 8-inch round deep pie dish with a lip.

Butter the pie dish.

Layer in your ingredients as follows. Half of the vegetables. All of the protein. The remaining half of the vegetables. You can season as you go.

 

Pour the warm gravy over top of everything in the pie dish.

Cut an 8-inch round out of the pastry and two strips, each about 1/2 inch wide. Yu can cut shapes out of the remainder of the pastry to decorate, using small cookie cutters if desired.

Brush some egg wash around the lip of the pie dish. Affix the pastry strips to the lip. Brush the strips with some of the egg wash.

 

Place the pasty round on top of the pie dish, pressing it gently around the edges to stick it to the pastry covered rim.

Vent the dish in the center and then brush with some of the egg wash. Stick on any pastry trimmings you wish to use. Brush them with the egg wash also.

Bake in the preheated oven for 30 to 35 minutes until the filling is bubbling up through the vent in the center and the pastry is golden brown.

Serve warm. Spoon out to serve.

Notes

If you have leftover turkey, it is nice to also have a layer of stuffing in the bottom of the pie dish. I used a mug of diced cooked potato on top of the stuffing layer, then the turkey and then mixed vegetables on top.

 

This really is delicious.  I always manage to make good use of all of my leftovers. It is quick and easy to throw together as well.  

It is also very adaptable to a variety of fillings and ingredients. You can use your imagination in however you wish to put it together.

I served with some cranberry sauce (because it was turkey) and coleslaw on the side. In the U.K. it would be common to have chips with a pie like this, or even mashed potatoes.

  

Here are some other genius ways to use up some of the leftovers after your holiday dinners, or even Sunday lunch!

LEFTOVER MEAT ESCALLOPE - This delicious casserole makes great use of leftover bits of meat or poultry, vegetables, gravy, etc. A nice, tossed salad on the side, and you have a delicious meal that everyone will enjoy, and nobody will care if it is leftovers or not! I guarantee!

CHICKEN AND HAM PIE - This lush pie makes great use of cooked chicken (turkey) and ham.  In a beautiful lard/butter pastry, that is in three layers rather than two. (Yes there is an extra layer of pastry in the middle dividing the chicken from the ham.)  This always goes down a real treat and nobody minds that they are eating leftover at all! 

Yield: 4 servings

Author: Marie Rayner

How to make a Pot Pie out of Just About Anything

Prep time: 15 MinCook time: 35 MinTotal time: 50 Min

This delicious recipe makes a fabulous pot pie that is adaptable to whatever leftovers you happen to have in the refrigerator. It's very simple to make and uses only a few ingredients. Nothing is wasted. Use one of your coffee mugs to measure the filling.

Ingredients

• 1 sheet of all butter puff pastry
• 1 mug of leftover gravy, heated through
• 2 mugs of leftover protein, cubed into bite sized pieces
• 2 mugs of leftover cooked vegetables (see notes)
• salt and pepper to season
• 1 egg yolk beaten together with1 tsp water

Instructions

1. Preheat your oven to 375*F/190*C/ gas mark 5. Have ready an 8-inch round deep pie dish with a lip.
2. Butter the pie dish.
3. Layer in your ingredients as follows. Half of the vegetables. All of the protein. The remaining half of the vegetables. You can season as you go.
4. Pour the warm gravy over top of everything in the pie dish.
5. Cut an 8-inch round out of the pastry and two strips, each about 1/2 inch wide. Yu can cut shapes out of the remainder of the pastry to decorate, using small cookie cutters if desired.
6. Brush some egg wash around the lip of the pie dish. Affix the pastry strips to the lip. Brush the strips with some of the egg wash.
7. Place the pasty round on top of the pie dish, pressing it gently around the edges to stick it to the pastry covered rim.
8. Vent the dish in the center and then brush with some of the egg wash. Stick on any pastry trimmings you wish to use. Brush them with the egg wash also.
9. Bake in the preheated oven for 30 to 35 minutes until the filling is bubbling up through the vent in the center and the pastry is golden brown.
10. Serve warm. Spoon out to serve.

Notes

If you have leftover turkey, it is nice to also have a layer of stuffing in the bottom of the pie dish. I used a mug of diced cooked potato on top of the stuffing layer, then the turkey and then mixed vegetables on top.

Did you make this recipe?

Tag @marierayner5530 on instagram and hashtag it #TheEnglishKitchen

This content (written and photography) is the sole property of The English Kitchen. Any reposting or misuse is not permitted. If you are reading this elsewhere, please know that it is stolen content and you may report it to me at: mariealicejoan at aol dot com 

Thanks for visiting! Do come again!! 

 If you like what you see here, why not consider signing up for my newsletter and/or subscribing/following me on Grow. You can also bookmark my recipes via the Grow platform. Check out the heart on the right hand side of the screen.

Also, if you have not checked out my YouTube Channel yet, do give it a gander. I would really appreciate it, and if you want to subscribe that would be even more appreciated!  Thank you so much!  It is not really fancy like some people's channels. I am very much learning as I go along, but what you get is authentic at least! There is nothing fake there! No filters, bells or whistles. Filmed in real time and unedited!

Cranberry Eggnog Muffins (small batch)

 

I wanted to share one more bake with you before Christmas. These delicious Cranberry Eggnog Muffins are a recipe I adapted from a page called The Recipe Girl.  The original recipe made 14 to 16 muffins.  I did not need that many muffins and so I small-batched it to make a much smaller amount.

I got 8 medium muffins from a half-sized recipe. They were not overly large, but I felt they were just the right size, especially if you were going to serve them with breakfast and perhaps a few other things such as eggs, bacon, etc.

It is hard to believe that it is already Christmas Eve. I did not get half of the recipes cooked and tried that I had wanted to this Christmas holiday season, but that's okay. It gives me more to try next year.

I have really enjoyed everything that I have made for the holidays this year and I hope that you have too.  I wish for each of you a very Merry Christmas, a Happy Chanuka, a happy Kwanza, a lovely Festivus, a pleasant couple of days, whatever it is that you celebrate!

I am not going to be posting any new content now until after Boxing Day. (Dec 26th.) I will be busy entertaining family and spending some quality time with them! If you do have any questions or comments, however, don't hesitate to email or get in touch. I will be sure to respond as soon as I can!  Be well and be happy!

 

WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE CRANBERRY EGGNOG MUFFINS

Just a few simple ingredients. 

For the muffins:

• 1 1/8 cup (145g) plain all-purpose flour
• 1/2 TBS baking powder (6g)
• 1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar
• 1 large egg
• 3 fluid ounces (89ml) eggnog
• 3 TBS butter, melted (38g)
• 1/2 tsp almond extract
• 1/2 cup (50g) fresh cranberries, coarsely chopped
• 1 TBS granulated sugar (12g)

For the streusel topping:

• 2 TBS plain all-purpose flour (16g)
• 2 TBS granulated sugar (24g)
• 1 TBS butter, softened (14g)
• 3 TBS coarsely chopped pecans (23g)

If you cannot get eggnog, you can use undiluted evaporated milk or even single cream in its place and you will still have a very good muffin. In that case, I would add some grated orange zest and a pinch of nutmeg or cinnamon.

If fresh cranberries are not available to you, you could use dried cranberries. In that case I would leave out the TBS of sugar for dusting the berries.  You could also use blueberries in their place but they will not be quite as tart.

 

HOW TO MAKE CRANBERRY EGGNOG MUFFINS

These are simple to make. I have given you a list of hints and tips at the end to make your muffin baking results turn out superb!

Preheat the oven to 400*F/200*C/ gas mark 6. Butter 8 cups in a medium muffin tin really well or line with paper liners. Put some water in the unused cups to prevent the pan from buckling.

Whisk the flour, sugar, and baking powder together in a bowl. Whisk the egg, melted butter, almond extract and eggnog together in a beaker. Mix the TBS of sugar and chopped cranberries together.

Rub the flour, 1/2 cup of sugar, butter and pecans for the streusel topping together until you get a crumbly mixture.

 

Add the wet ingredients to the flour/sugar/baking powder mixture and give everything a whisk together just to combine. Stir in the sugared cranberries.

Divide the mixture between the prepared muffin cups. Top each with a portion of the streusel topping.

Bake in the preheated oven for 18 to 20 minutes, or until the muffins test done. They should spring back when lightly touched and a toothpick inserted in the center should come out clean.

 

HINTS AND TIPS FOR BEAUTIFUL MUFFINS

Here are my hints and tips for making sure that your muffins turn out beautifully every time:

1. Mix wet and dry ingredients separately. To prevent the mix from being overworked, first mix the wet ingredients together in one bowl and mix the dry ingredients in another. Make a well in the dry ingredients, carefully pour in the wet ingredients, then stir the mix a couple of times to roughly combine. 

 2. Don't over mix your muffins. The most important rule of muffin making is to not over stir the mix. What you really want is to just moisten the ingredients. Do not stir or beat the batter until it is smooth and lump free. You want the final mix to be lumpy, and thick with a few floury streaks.

 3. Add your flavors last.  While spices should be added with all the other dry ingredients, additions like fruit and nuts should be added last. Give the batter one more light-handed stir once you've added them in just to combine.  

4. Line the pans. You can choose to either grease the muffin tin or line it with paper liners. If you choose to forgo the liners, make sure you grease the base and sides of the cups with oil spray or a little melted butter. If you're not going to eat the muffins for a while, do use paper liners as these will keep the muffins fresher for longer. 

 5. Don't overfill your pans. Aim to fill the cups ¾ full to get muffins with nice round tops and to prevent them from spilling out over the top of the cups.  Often if your tins are over filled the muffins will rise to the top and then collapse on themselves.

 6. For extra interest, add a flavorful sprinkle on top.  Once the muffin cups are all filled, you can choose to sprinkle the tops with more fruit, nuts or a crumble topping, even sanding sugar or cinnamon sugar, for even more taste and or crunch. As the muffins rise these toppings will cook into the tops of the muffin.  

7. Protect your baking pan.  If there isn't enough batter to fill all the cups, half fill the empty ones with water. This will help the muffins bake evenly and will help to protect your pan from buckling. 

8. Cooling them down. Once you remove the muffins from the oven, let them sit in their pan for a few minutes before removing to a wire rack. This is especially important for muffins that aren't in a paper liner, as it will help them from falling apart. However, remove them after five minutes otherwise you risk them going soggy as they cool in the pan. 

9. Freeze extras for later. Muffins freeze beautifully, so if you can't enjoy them all on the day they're baked, wrap them in plastic, and put them in the freezer for later. They will keep for about 3 months and reheat wonderfully in the microwave for about 30 seconds on high from frozen. 

 

These were really good, although the flavor of the eggnog was not really pronounced. They were moist however, and there was a nice lot of cranberries in them.  If you want more of an eggnog flavor, I suggest adding a touch of nutmeg to the muffins.

They were not huge, which I liked, and they were not like little cakes but had a beautiful muffin texture which I also liked. I loved the addition of that nutty streusel on top!

Here are a few other muffin recipes that you might also enjoy!

GINGERBREAD MUFFINS - I am a hug fan of gingerbread anything. I think gingerbread is probably one of my favorite things to bake and eat! They are moist and delicious with a lovely crumb and beautiful ginger/cinnamon flavor. The recipe makes a full batch of 12 fabulous muffins!  

ORANGE MUFFINS - Buttery, moist and filled with orange flavors from the outside in.  These are winners all round! I chose to stud mine with dried currants, but you may like raisins, or nuts, or blueberries, etc. You may even prefer them to be plain.  One thing is for sure, you will enjoy these moist and delicious muffins. Fresh orange flavors filled with an optional fruit and sweet glaze. You can't go wrong! 

Yield: 7 - 8 medium muffins

Author: Marie Rayner

Cranberry Eggnog Muffins (SMALL BATCH)

Prep time: 10 MinCook time: 20 MinTotal time: 30 Min

These delicious holiday muffins are studded generously with chopped cranberries and topped with a moreish pecan streusel.

Ingredients

For the muffins:

• 1 1/8 cup (145g) plain all-purpose flour
• 1/2 TBS baking powder (6g)
• 1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar
• 1 large egg
• 3 fluid ounces (89ml) eggnog
• 3 TBS butter, melted (38g)
• 1/2 tsp almond extract
• 1/2 cup (50g) fresh cranberries, coarsely chopped
• 1 TBS granulated sugar (12g)

For the streusel topping:

• 2 TBS plain all-purpose flour (16g)
• 2 TBS granulated sugar (24g)
• 1 TBS butter, softened (14g)
• 3 TBS coarsely chopped pecans (23g)

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 400*F/200*C/ gas mark 6. Butter 8 cups in a medium muffin tin really well or line with paper liners. Put some water in the unused cups to prevent the pan from buckling.
2. Whisk the flour, sugar, and baking powder together in a bowl. Whisk the egg, melted butter, almond extract and eggnog together in a beaker. Mix the TBS of sugar and chopped cranberries together.
3. Rub the flour, 1/2 cup of sugar, butter and pecans for the streusel topping together until you get a crumbly mixture.
4. Add the wet ingredients to the flour/sugar/baking powder mixture and give everything a whisk together just to combine. Stir in the sugared cranberries.
5. Divide the mixture between the prepared muffin cups. Top each with a portion of the streusel topping.
6. Bake in the preheated oven for 18 to 20 minutes, or until the muffins test done. They should spring back when lightly touched and a toothpick inserted in the center should come out clean.

Did you make this recipe?

Tag @marierayner5530 on instagram and hashtag it #TheEnglishKitchen

This content (written and photography) is the sole property of The English Kitchen. Any reposting or misuse is not permitted. If you are reading this elsewhere, please know that it is stolen content and you may report it to me at: mariealicejoan at aol dot com 

Thanks for visiting! Do come again!! 

 If you like what you see here, why not consider signing up for my newsletter and/or subscribing/following me on Grow. You can also bookmark my recipes via the Grow platform. Check out the heart on the right hand side of the screen.

Also, if you have not checked out my YouTube Channel yet, do give it a gander. I would really appreciate it, and if you want to subscribe that would be even more appreciated!  Thank you so much!  It is not really fancy like some people's channels. I am very much learning as I go along, but what you get is authentic at least! There is nothing fake there! No filters, bells or whistles. Filmed in real time and unedited!

Decorating my Christmas Cake, 2024

 

 Here is my Christmas Cake, all decorated for this Christmas, 2024.  I was really looking forward to putting this together for you this year. I started planning it way back in September.

Decorating a Christmas Cake each year for Christmas is a very British tradition. The Christmas Cake will be the centerpiece of the holiday meal and takes up a prominent space in the home.

You can of course buy one already decorated (in the U.K. at any rate) but there is nothing so satisfying as baking and decorating your own.

 

I baked my actual cake a month or so ago. I did a video about that on YouTube. This was the first year that I have baked a Christmas Cake since I returned to live in Canada from the U.K. in 2020.

I wanted to make it really special this year and so, as I said, I started planning it back in September. Gathering all of the ingredients together and the materials that I would need.

I ordered my fruit for the cake from the U.K. You can of course, put together your own dried fruit mixture.  I was really wanting the fruit that I was used to getting in the U.K for authenticity.  Probably a bit pretentious on my part, but oh well!

 

You bake the cake at least a month or even longer prior to Christmas. This gives you enough time to feed it some brandy ahead of time.  Each day I have been spooning a tablespoon or two of brandy over the top of my cake allowing it to soak in while the cake ripens.

This makes for a really moist and well flavored cake.  A fruit cake, ideally, should be baked enough ahead of time so that the cake can develop its flavor fully and adding some brandy helps it to do just that.

 

Once you are ready to decorate your cake you will want to cover it with a layer of marzipan. 

I bought my marzipan from the U.K. also, but there are also British supply stores here in Canada where you can buy it, or you can be really keen and make your own from scratch. 

There is a really great recipe here on how to make it from scratch and how to apply it to your cake on the BBC Good Food Page here. 

I like to turn my cake upside down to decorate. Inevitably there will be  little "pot holes" where a raisin or a currant has fallen out so I fill those holes in first with small bits of the marzipan.  Once I have done that, a layer of warmed and sieved apricot jam is applied to the whole surface of the cake.

You can roll your marzipan out into a thin round large enough to cover the whole cake, which I have done in the past, or you can do it the way I did it this time which was to roll out the marzipan and cut a round large enough to apply to the top and then roll out more to apply as a wide strip to wrap around the sides.

 

Once you have your cake covered with the marzipan you will want to leave it to dry for about 24 hour or longer.  This helps to prevent the color from the marzipan bleeding into the icing when you do apply it.

You can do a flat layer of fondant icing if you wish and which I have done in the past, or you can opt to make a fluffy royal icing to cover it with, which is what I did this time.  I wanted to get very much a snow effect this year.

 

I found the little baby plastic deer which I used for this year's cake on Amazon. You can find those here.  I fell completely in love with them as soon as I saw them.  They were so sweet and innocent. So cute.  

I actually found them first and then planned the rest of the decorations around them.   I also found the bottle brush trees on Amazon. 

 

I have a great love for red and white toadstools and actually had a small box of them in my craft room and thought they would be perfect and would inject a bit of color to the top of the cake, just at the base of the trees.  

I applied a royal icing (see recipe below) over the marzipan and then put on the decorations. I wanted it to look like the baby reindeer had fallen asleep together in a Winter wonderland waiting for Christmas to arrive.

I think I managed to convey that feeling.  Soft and innocent. I added some white and silver sugar pearls in a variety of sizes to give it some sparkle.

I do have a bit of tinsel garland to apply around the base of the cake, but I forgot to add that before I took my photographs. 

 

I was thoroughly pleased with how my cake turned out this year.  I can't wait to bring it to my sister's place on Christmas Day.  I got exactly the effect I was hoping for. It is sweet and innocent, and I feel that it portrays perfectly the innocence of children waiting for Christmas to arrive.

I think this is my favorite one yet! I just love it. It will be a shame to cut into it, truth be known, but we won't be able to resist the fruit cake which is hiding underneath all of the cuteness!

 

If you would like to see some of the Christmas Cakes that I have decorated in the past you can find them here.

CHRISTMAS CAKE 2019 -  This is the year I topped it with a little red car carrying home the Christmas Tree. There are snowy trees in the background, snow on the ground and a pretty ribbon decorating the sides, etc.

GINGERBREAD-MAN CHRISTMAS CAKE 2017 - This one was really cute. I did cutouts on top of Gingerbread-men, etc. This was one of my favorites!

THE YEAR I RAN OUT OF TIME - You can still decorate your cake really prettily at the last minute with a simple fluffy fondant icing, some cake sprinkles and a pretty ribbon

Yield: Enough for one cake

Author: Marie Rayner

Royal Icing

Prep time: 20 MinTotal time: 20 Min

This is a quick and easy recipe for royal icing to decorate an 8-inch Christmas Cake. Very simple to make, especially if you have a stand mixer!

Ingredients

• 2 large egg whites (6 TBS pasteurized egg whites from the carton)
• a scant 4 cups (500g) sifted icing sugar
• 1 tsp glycerin (can use corn syrup or coconut oil)

Instructions

1. Put the egg whites into the bowl and beat for 60 seconds or so to break them up.
2. Start adding the icing sugar, 1 dessert spoon at a time. Leave the mixer running the whole time. Continue until all of the icing sugar has been added and you have a mixture that holds its shape and forms soft peaks.
3. Add the glycerin and beat for a further5 minutes which should give the icing a good shine.
4. Spoon the icing over your cake, which you should have covered with marzipan. Spread it out to cover the sides and the top with a palette knife.
5. Tapping the flat side of your knife on top of the cake here and there will give it the look of snow.
6. Affix any decorations to the top of the cake before it hardens and sets.

Did you make this recipe?

Tag @marierayner5530 on instagram and hashtag it #TheEnglishKitchen

This content (written and photography) is the sole property of The English Kitchen. Any reposting or misuse is not permitted. If you are reading this elsewhere, please know that it is stolen content and you may report it to me at: mariealicejoan at aol dot com 

Thanks for visiting! Do come again!! 

 If you like what you see here, why not consider signing up for my newsletter and/or subscribing/following me on Grow. You can also bookmark my recipes via the Grow platform. Check out the heart on the right hand side of the screen.

Also, if you have not checked out my YouTube Channel yet, do give it a gander. I would really appreciate it, and if you want to subscribe that would be even more appreciated!  Thank you so much!  It is not really fancy like some people's channels. I am very much learning as I go along, but what you get is authentic at least! There is nothing fake there! No filters, bells or whistles. Filmed in real time and unedited!