After the holidays we all have a lot of leftover. But there are so many great first time entree's that can be made from leftovers, it doesn't seem to matter.

On Christmas we had chicken and dumplings. Anytime I boil chicken I cook more than I will use and freeze back portions of chicken and the stock. That way I have semi fresh stock available.

Tonight I realized I forgot to free the leftover chicken so getting it used and out of the fridge was a must. There were plenty of leftover veggies in the box as well so it was either soup, stew, or a pie. We haven't had a homemade meat pie in awhile so that's what I decided on.

There is no set recipe for the ingredients of a homemade meat pie. Just like a pot of soup, this is a great way to clean your fridge of leftover veggies and meat.

Just t give you some kind of idea, this is what I used.

• 2 Large boiled chicken quarters, de-boned and torn up
• 2 Cups chicken stock
• 1 cup carrots (leftover)
• 1 cup potatoes (fresh)
• 3/4 cup frozen peas
• 3/4 cup corn (leftover)
• 3 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1/4 cup water
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon pepper
• 2- 9 inch pie crusts

Green beans, cauliflower, broccoli, beans, or any number of veggies would have been great thrown in.

Place meat, veggies, salt, pepper, and stock in large pan over medium heat and simmer until any uncooked veggies are semi cooked.

Mix water and cornstarch together in a small cup and set aside.

Get your pie crust rolled out and the first crust into the pie pan. Cut slits along the bottom with a sharp knife to prevent bubbling when the crust begins to bake in the oven. When veggies are semi cooked, bring soupy mixture to a boil and stir in cornstarch and water mixture. (Make sure to stir cornstarch and water mixture again before adding to your pan of pie filling.) Stir thoroughly. Remove from heat and continue to stir a few strokes.

Spoon pie filling mixture into prepared pie crust. Mixture should be thick and hold together slightly. 

Roll out and cover pie with second crust. Trim top crust along the pan rim and crimp crust edges to keep pie filling from bubbling out around the edges of the pan during the baking time.

Cut some sort of slits in the top of the pie crust. This not only adds a decorative touch but if you pie gets hot enough to bubble hard, it will raise through the slits you cut instead of blowing the side out of your pie crust and making a big mess in your oven. Place pie on cookie sheet (to protect your oven from spills) and bake at 350 degrees for 35-45 minutes or until crust top is golden brown.

Remove from oven and cool on wire rack for 30 minutes.

If you cut straight into your pie, the filling will be very hot and will run out of your crust. Waiting 30 minutes to allow your pie to cool and rest will make sure it sits up like it should without running all over you plate. I probably should have waited longer before I cut my pie. But look at that flaky crust! Yum!!

Note: I recently made the mistake of buying cheap flour instead of Gold Metal like I normally do. Several pies I made over Thanksgiving came out mediocre at best and I couldn't figure out what had happened.

Making this Chicken Pot Pie I used Gold Medal flour and Crisco instead of cheap shortening. WOW, what a difference. My crusts were back to their golden, light, flaky selves and quite delicious if I do say so myself.

Don't scrimp on ingredients if you want quality food in the end.