Whether you have turkey leftovers from Thanksgiving or Christmas Dinner or chicken from a Sunday Roast, there few better uses of the leftover meat then a pot pie. I do love a good pot pie and in a previous post: Nothing Better Than a Homemade Chicken Pot Pie I went into detail on how to make a pot pie from leftover chicken, gravy with carrots, potatoes and celery.
The problem that I do have with a pot pie made from either chicken or turkey using a standard 9 inch pie deep dish is that I am basically unable to exhibit any self-control and will eat the pot pie until I am uncomfortably stuffed. My mission after the last chicken that I roasted was to find a smaller casserole, pie or a ramekin dish that was large enough to be a filling meal, but no so large that the end result was a meal that might as well have been baked in a standard 9 inch pie deep dish.
Pot Pie Individual Serving
Off to the kitchen stores I went in search of a smaller oven safe dish that was larger than a ramekin. I had this notion that I was going to find a “his†and “her†sized dishes. After going through a few stores and not finding what I was looking for in my mind, I ended up finding dishes that were close enough to the size that I had imagined in my mind.
To prepare the filling, I used the standard ratio of ingredients for deep dish pot pie that I normally make:
- 3 Cups of Diced Leftover Chicken or Turkey
- 2 Cups of Gravy (Giblet Gravy if possible)
- 1 Cup of Diced Boiled Potatoes
- 1 Cup of Diced Boiled Carrots
- 1 Cup of Diced Boiled Celery
- 2 Pie Shells
- Salt & Black Pepper to taste
I knew that I was going to have more filling then I needed, but my initial intention was to make a third and even a fourth pot pie and freeze them for a later meal.
My greatest concern when making these smaller, individual serving pot pies was that I did not want the pie crust to be too dominant. So I made an extra effort to roll out the pie shell thinner then I normally would on the kitchen counter dusted with flour. I was also hoping to be able to use one pie shell for two individual pot pies.
Pie Crust Rolled Out with Small Pot Pie Dish
I was successful in rolling out the pie shell thinner, but I was not able to make two pot pies from one pie shell. The result was the excess rolled out pie shell being discarded.
Small Pot Pie Dish with Rolled Out Pie Shell
Once the pie shell had been rolled out and placed into the small casserole dish, I then topped the bottom pie shell with the pot pie filling.
Small Pot Pie Dish with Filling
Then, the pie shell was folded over and crimped as you typically would with any pie. I repeated these steps for the second individual serving pot pie.
Pie Shell Folded Over Small Pot Pie Dish
Once the pot pies had been crimped, steam holes pricked into the top and basted with milk, the pot pies went into a preheated oven at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 30 minutes.
His & Her Individual Pot Pies Ready To Bake
The result was two perfectly baked “individual†sized “his†and “her†pot pies. The reality is that my eyes were larger then my intention and the larger pot pie could have served two people comfortably and the smaller pot pie would have been the perfect size for “himâ€, but a little too much for “herâ€. Despite not judging the size of the dishes used to make these smaller, portioned controlled pot pies, I considered the overall intention to be a success. It is possible to make a smaller sized pot pie. Whether it is a meal for one person with the leftovers given to you after a meal with friends and family, the desire to prepackage tomorrow’s meal for a friend or relative who came for the holiday dinner, this is a practical alternative to making a full sized pot pie.
His & Hers Individual Baked Pot Pies