Cut the air vents on the crust with
star-shaped cookie cutters. Photo courtesy
Betty Crocker.

Last month, chef Johnny Gnall suggested creative ways to use Thanksgiving leftovers. Today, he does the same with Christmas leftovers. If you have questions or suggestions for tips, email Chef Johnny.

This past Thanksgiving, I got creative and turned my leftovers into dumplings: from turkey, to Brussels sprouts, to cranberry sauce, to some mascarpone leftover from making scrumptious mashed potatoes, I made sure all leftovers were represented, resulting in a delicious array of flavor combinations.

Now, what to do with the Christmas in the fridge? Make a delicious pot pie!

CHRISTMAS LEFTOVERS POT PIE

One dish with universal appeal is the classic turkey pot pie. You can substitute ham, lamb or whatever your holiday protein.

Pot pies are a refreshing and different way to turn leftovers into excitement. What might have seemed boring becomes nestled in a savory sauce beneath a savory, gold-brown crust.

MAKING THE PIE CRUST

Making the pie dough is pretty simple:

MAKE THE FILLING

When it comes to making the filling for your pie, the goal is a moist, flavorful base, and the sky’s the limit when it comes to ingredients for filling.

You can also make individual pot pies. Photo courtesy McCormick.

MAKE THE SAUCE

You need a sauce to bring everything together in your pot pie; the type is up to you.

 
ASSEMBLE

 
Don’t worry if your first pie isn’t perfect. You may need to scale up the dough recipe if you find that your shell or lid aren’t quite big enough, but this shouldn’t be a problem as the ingredients for crust are inexpensive.

Have fun and experiment with ingredients. You may create a new holiday leftovers classic!