Life of Pie

Leftovers. The word never sounds enticing, does it?

With a bit of creativity, leftovers can be elevated out of their deemed unworthy and uninspiring reputation, to a starring role, beyond the stir fry or eating cold food out of a takeout box.

With rising food costs, there's no better time to step up to the plate and wisely use up extra food.

Case in point: the roasted bird. A regular feature at our house, roast chicken stuffed with lemons and herbs is our go-to comfort meal. The next day, leftover meat is picked off the bones for sandwiches or used for soups or stews. The roasted bones are made into a rich tasting stock, used for risottos or soup. Extra meat can also be frozen for later use, especially with larger birds, or used for a pot pie, a delectable treat encased in flakey pastry.

You can dress it up with lots of fresh vegetables, or keep it simple by using leftover veggies from the roast, a combination of the two, or simply chicken and gravy.

Squash, carrots, celery, leeks, and potatoes, I like to saute the fresh vegetables first to let their flavours co-mingle, season to taste, and then fold in leftover chicken meat and or leftover vegetables.

You can certainly make the pie in small individual sizes - great for lunches - but I like to make a dinner party-friendly size with my trusted pie crust recipe. (It's makes exactly the right amount for a double crust pie).

If you are concerned about the ingredients holding together, you can add a flour and water, or cornstarch and water mixture. ( If you have gravy on hand, add it now).

Cool the ingredients slightly before adding.

Apply the top layer of pastry, make a nice fluted edge, cut slices into the pastry so it can breath, and brush with an egg wash.

Another delicious dinner is almost ready.

For two people, this is dinner over the next few days - and a few lunches - jazzed up with mushroom or an onion gravy, and salad, or simply heated up and served with a big dollop of mustard.

Food should never go to waste.