Reinventing Leftovers

At our house it seems like we always have an abundance of leftovers. Like a lot of people, they really aren't my favorite thing in the world. I kind of hate eating the same meals over and over until they are gone and honestly, it's never as good reheated as it was the first time around.

That's why I've made it a habit of re-inventing leftovers and turning them into new and exciting meals. This is considerably easier in the winter or fall when a lot of our meals are roasts or whole cuts of meat that are baked in the oven. That gives you a little more flexibility than say a dish made of ground beef or chopped chicken.

Last night was one of the nights that I really hit jackpot with my leftover creativity. I made a bisquick chicken pot pie that was more than 1/2 made of leftovers. It cleaned out the fridge, tasted AMAZING and best of all - it all got eaten. Even the kids liked it! I wish I had taken pictures, but we were all digging in like we hadn't eaten good food in months. Here's how I did it:

Bisquick Leftover Chicken Pot Pie
Ingredients:

Filling:
-1/2 medium onion, diced
-3 cloves garlic, minced
-olive oil
-Roughly 2 cups cut chicken (I used 4 large thighs that had been roasted in the oven a prior night. Just pull of the skin and cut up the meat.)
-Roughly 2 to 3 cups cooked veggies (I used several containers of vegetables that had been leftover from meals earlier in the week. I had peas, carrots, broccoli and a little bit of cauliflower)
-1/2 to 2/3 cups of prepared chicken gravy (I used leftover gravy from earlier in the week. It had been made from a packet mix.)
-1 can cream of chicken soup (If you live near an Aldi's, buy their brand. It is amazing and I will never go back to Campbells as long as I live near an Aldi's.)
-1 soup can filled with milk

Biscuit topping:
-2 cups bisquick
-2/3 cup water
-1/2 cup shredded cheese of your choice

Directions:
In a skillet, cook onion and garlic in olive oil over medium heat until onion is cooked through. Add chicken and cooked vegetables to the mixture. Heat through. Add the leftover gravy, cream of chicken soup and milk to the mix, stirring well to combine. Heat through. Depending on how well your chicken was seasoned and your preferences, you may want to add salt and pepper at this point.

Combine ingredients for topping in a large bowl. Dough will be sticky and wet when finished.

If you used an oven safe pan, proceed to the next step. Otherwise, transfer the chicken mixture to a casserole dish.

using a small spoon, drop bisquick mixture on top of the chicken mixture. No need to spread it out.

Bake the whole thing at 350* (F) for roughly 20 to 25 minutes or until the biscuit topping is cooked through. Scoop and serve.