For our holiday gatherings, my Gram would bake a large ham. But we had a big family, and everyone would bring something. A roasted or deep-fried turkey would often show up. And a beef roast. One uncle would always make hamburgers for the kids, and my sweet aunt would make her amazing venison and three-bean stew. Not to mention 20-plus pounds of mashed potatoes, carnitas and beans, several casseroles, salads, cookies, and sides.

Needless to say, there were always a lot of leftovers after a holiday.

I remember the week between Christmas and New Year’s, Gram always prepared some sort of pot pie or shepherd’s pie. The meat in those pies was awfully familiar, as were the mashed potatoes— they were leftovers. But damn, those pies were good.

For the sake of nostalgia and missing my grandmother dearly since she passed away over 10 years ago, I decided to make her leftover shepherd’s pie once again. I’ve re-created this recipe lots of times, but never in miniature form. With just me and two small kids at home, at least half of a full-sized shepherd’s pie tended to go to waste.

Now I’m taking my grandma’s classic leftover meat pie and turning it into miniature versions that are freezer-friendly and small enough for a kid to finish the whole thing and still have room for ice cream. It’s a win-win. I found some adorable 5-oz. round pans on the Web Restaurant Store for super cheap, so I decided to buy a 50-pack plus another pack of even smaller mini pie pans to make tarts for the holidays.

Did I mention that the purpose of making these pies is to use up leftovers? These mini pot pies are a great way to use up that post-Thanksgiving turkey, so if you’re currently sitting on 10 pounds of bird and mashed potatoes, I’ve got you covered. They’re also great for post-Christmas meals — like my grandma used to make — or simply after a big meal with tons of leftover meat and veggies.

For these particular pot pies, I’m using some leftover mashed potatoes, homemade demi glacé, and sirloin, plus a pound of lean ground beef. For the vegetables, I’m using a bag of Aldi’s frozen mixed veggies, which costs about a dollar.

And though my grandma always made her own crust, I’ll be using Aldi brand store-bought crust ($1.95 per box of 2) to save time and frustration.

Speaking of freezer-friendly, these are easy to freeze and to reheat from frozen. To freeze them, set them uncovered on a sheet pan and let them sit in your freezer until frozen. Then, transfer the frozen pot pies to a freezer-safe bag.

To reheat from frozen, simply preheat your oven to 375° and then bake them for 30 to 35 minutes until completely heated to 165°. They make a great easy dinner or work-from-home lunch.

Here is the recipe:

2 lbs. leftover fully-cooked meat, such as chicken, turkey, steak, ground beef, or lamb
3 lbs. leftover mashed potatoes
1 (12 oz.) package steamed mixed veggies or 12 oz. leftover veggies
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 shallot, chopped
At least 1 cup leftover gravy, demi glace, or alfredo sauce
2 oz. butter
2-4 pre-made pie crusts

Preheat your oven to 375°.

Take your pie crusts out of the fridge and let them sit for about 5 minutes. Roll them out and lay your pie pans on top of them, top side down. Cut out mini crusts with a pizza cutter or a small knife. If you’re using all your leftover scraps to line 1-2 pans, you should have 8 mini pies. Poke holes in the bottoms of the crusts with a fork and set aside.

If you choose to top your pies with pie crusts, repeat this step and set the tops aside. If you do not, you can simply use the mashed potatoes as your top. If you are topping your pies with a top crust, make sure to cut vents in the center.

Next, chop your shallot and garlic. Then, add 2 oz. butter to a skillet and cook your shallot in the melted butter on medium to medium-low for 3-5 minutes until soft and translucent. Add your garlic and stir for two minutes. Then, add your frozen veggies and heat through, stirring so your garlic will not burn. Add your pre-cooked meat and one cup of gravy (or sauce of choice). Stir together, then turn off the heat.

Heat your mashed potatoes in a microwave or small pot until warm but not hot.

Then, fill your prepared mini pie crusts with the meat, veggie, and gravy mixture. Add mashed potatoes on top, then add your top pie crust (optional).

Bake in the oven on two sheet pans for 30-35 minutes. Be sure to check them after 20 minutes to ensure that the crust is not too brown. If it is starting to brown, tent the pies with aluminum foil.

Top with additional gravy (optional) and enjoy!

Here is a printer-friendly recipe that is free to download: