*This Christmas leftover pie recipe is a paid collaboration with Schwartz.
I love to cook. I cook as often as I can, I would say it’s one of the few things in life that I’m good at. However, I hardly ever post recipe posts on here. Why? Well, firstly because they take ages to put together. Seriously. Do you know how long it takes to cook a meal when you’re taking pictures at every step? A long time. Also, because I’m very much a throw things together and see what works kind of gal. So, that’s what you’re getting today.
Let's talk about Schwartz
Schwartz (the seasoning company) contacted me, challenging me to produce a recipe with their chicken casserole packet mix. As someone who has learnt to cook using Schwartz her whole life, this wasn’t much of a challenge. The real challenge, however, was making something I thought was a recipe worth releasing to the world. Because who wants more of the same. Therefore, without further ado, I introduce my Christmas leftover pie.
Christmas Leftover Pie
Picture this. It’s the day/two days after Christmas, your feeling cosy and happy, but more than a little bit sick of the same Christmas Dinner you’ve been eating since December 25th. However, you’ve still got half a roast spilling out of your fridge and you can’t really make anything fresh until it’s gone. I bring to you the Christmas leftover pie… A place to chuck your leftover Christmas dinner and repurpose it into something comforting, warm and delicious.
Christmas Leftover Pie Recipe
Christmas Leftover Pie
Ingredients
- 1 White onion
- 3 slices Bacon
- 3 Sausages
- Cooked Chicken/Turkey (Whatever roast meat you had leftover)
- 8 Mushrooms
- 3 Carrots large
- 1 packet Schwartz chicken casserole
- ½ cup Water
- Preferred seasonings
- 750 grams Puff Pastry (I use readymade)
- 1 Egg (Optional)
Instructions
The Filling
- Prepare the ingredients: chop the onions, carrots, mushrooms, bacon, and sausages and shred your cooked meat.
- Lightly oil a pan and use it to fry together the onions and the bacon on a medium heat. Once the bacon is almost done, slowly add the sausages and fry until no longer pink. Season to taste.
- Once those are cooked, slowly add the carrots, mushrooms and cooked meat. Fry until the mushrooms have softened slightly and the cooked meat has warmed up.
- Turn the heat to low and add the Schwartz chicken casserole packet mix and the water in sections, stirring as you add. The final mixture should have some liquid so as to ensure that the pie won't dry out, but not be too wet (See picture marked '4' earlier in post)
The pie
- Preheat the oven to 160°C.
- Roll out the pastry (I use pre-bought because I'm lazy, but if you want to make your own please do)
- Fit the pastry around your pie tin and cut away at the excess dough, ready to re-roll it to make your pie lid.
- Scoop the filling into the pie. You want your pastry case filled at least 4/5 of the way, and make sure that you have scooped the liquid in with the filling.
- Roll out the remaining pastry and use it to cover the top of your pie. Cut the excess off and use a fork to crimp the edges of the pie and poke holes in the lid. If you still have excess pastry, why not create some cute flowers/hearts to go on top of the pies?
- (Optional) If you want a golden pie, beat an egg and paint the pastry with it.
- Heat in the oven at 160°C for 30 minutes. If the pastry still isn't cooked. continue to cook in 5-minute intervals until your pastry is cooked through.
Notes on this recipe
As I said in the beginning, I’m a throw it all in and see what happens kind of cook, so I would like to stress that this recipe can be chopped and changed as you please. I made it with chicken because that’s the meat I have with a roast dinner, and I added the sausages and bacon to create a sausagemeat stuffing/pigs and blankets feel to it.
I haven’t put a quantity of “cooked meat” because it’s supposed to be a leftover Christmas pie, and thus I cannot judge how much meat you’ll have leftover. Therefore, I’d recommend adding more mushrooms, carrots or sausage if you’re sparse on shredded cooked meat. Also, you’re welcome to use leftover roast vegetables instead of fresh ones! It just means you’d have to fry at step 3 of the filling for less time. Honestly, the beauty of this pie is that you can’t really go wrong – If you liked your Christmas/roast dinner the first time, you’re bound to like it in a pie. Finally, if you really want a fancy twist, throw in some cranberry sauce/apple sauce to give it a real sweet and savoury vibe.
And there you have it!
Let me know what you think of this recipe, and whether you’d love to see more recipes from me in general (I cook an awful lot). Thank you so much to Schwartz for providing the chicken casserole mix, it should be available to purchase at your local supermarket!
Are you a chicken or turkey or no-meat for Christmas dinner kind of person? Let me know in the comments!
Lots of love,
Jas xx
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