Wednesday, March 28, 2012

Chicken a la King with Biscuit Toppers

Yum
In 1985 we got our first microwave and it opened up a whole new world of convenience food for me.  Microwave meals were pretty darn cool back then (well we didn't know better) and I loved these single serving Chicken a la King frozen meals my mother would buy for me to eat after school.  I would pop it into the microwave and simply pour the creamy chicken and vegetables over some buttered toast and it tasted beyond wonderful.   I have not had chicken a la King in decades but I recently thought about it and it gave me a major craving to taste that creamy chicken over toast again.  I created this one pot dish from stove to oven and it was way better than any of those frozen entrees from back in the day.  It was simply scrumptious and it came together so easily.  I poached my own chicken and made some stock while doing it, but you can easily make this with rotisserie chicken and some canned chicken broth. I did take help from the store with some store bought biscuits from Pillsbury and served it right out my caste iron skillet.  I scored another 10 fingers up (my kid's way of saying lots of thumbs up) and my husband tried really hard not to have 3rd helpings. I will definitely not wait decades to eat Chicken a la King again.  Actually, I've got it schedule for dinner again next week.


  Ingredients:
4-5 cups of shredded chicken from poached or rotisserie chicken
3-4 cups of chicken broth or poaching liquid (below)
2 Tbs butter or margarine
1 Tbs canola oil
1/4 cup of all purpose flour (or as needed)
1/2 cup of diced celery
1/2 cup of diced carrots
1 medium onion diced
1/2 cup of frozen peas. (You can also you mixed veg like I did)
1/2 cup of cream, half and half or whole milk
1/2 tsp of dried thyme
salt and black pepper to taste
2-3 cloves of garlic grated
12-15 prepared biscuits like Pillsbury (or homemade)


 Directions:

To poach your own chicken you will need:

4-5 cups of chicken broth or water/bullion equivalent
1 celery stalk coarsely chopped
1 carrot coarsely chopped
1/2 onion coarsely chopped
2 cloves of garlic coarsely chopped
2 bay leaves
black pepper

Bring all the ingredients to a boil then lower to a gentle simmer for 20-25 minutes.  Remove chicken to cool and shred.  Reserve poaching liquid to use later.


In a oven safe skillet (like a caste iron pan) heat your butter and oil. Add  garlic and allow to fry for 30-45 seconds.  Then add chopped onions, celery, carrots, salt and dried thyme.
 Note: the broth will add salt to the dish so be conservative when you add salt here. 


Next add flour.  You need equal parts flour to fat here to make a roux.  Cook roux for a 2 minutes and then add chicken broth or poaching liquid to the pan. Stir well until gravy is smooth.  Allow gravy to simmer until it thickens. Note: If the gravy looks thin, add a little more flour by mixing flour with a little water in a separate bowl and adding it to the gravy. 

Next add milk or cream. Stir well. Taste for seasoning. Add salt and seasoning as needed here.  When the gravy is at the right taste and consistency, add the frozen peas and shredded chicken to the pan. Allow everything to gently simmer for 5 minutes.

When the creamed vegetables and chicken are cooked to your taste, turn off the stove and top with your favorite biscuits.  Place in the oven and bake until the biscuits are cooked through and browned. Serve hot. Enjoy.


Note: I suggest you place your skillet on a baking sheet so it is easy to move in and out of the oven and will catch any spills if the gravy decides to bubble in the oven.






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28 comments:

  1. My mouth is watering. Chicken a la king is one of my father's favorite meals. We also used the frozen or the canned ones. Thanks for sharing your delicious recipe, I really need to try it soon.

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  2. You just tapped right into my childhood with this one! Thank you for reminding me of a favorite dish I haven't recalled since then. I would love to try this for myself!

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  3. What a comfort meal full of warm creamy goodness. It looks a lot like the chicken and dumplings my friend makes, but with the added simplicity of pre-made biscuits. How great!

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  4. Oooh - I've never had chicken a la king, I think it's an American thing? But it looks delicious with those toppers :)

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  5. No wonder you had schedule this yUmmy dish for another dinner next week,Looks perfect with those bisquits and creamy gravy,,YUM !!
    Ridwan

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  6. Very interesting! I've never heard of it, but it must be such a warm comfort food. I love the biscuits on top. You can dip in the sauce... hmmm..... Must be nice to have this homemade version after school!

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  7. What a comforting dish, everything is better with biscuits on top :)

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  8. This looks incredible! Seems like a nice home-style comfort food, especially with those golden biscuits on top! This looks and sounds extremely delicious all around! I can see why you're making it again. :)

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  9. Oh yes please!! Who doesn't love chicken and biscuits?! Total winner!

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  10. Sounds delicious! Definitely much, much better and more appetizing than dinner dinners.

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  11. This is a real comfort food dish and looks wonderful! I've always loved this dish.

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  12. Hi there!! I just love your blog to pieces! So much so that I actually nominated you for The Versatile Blogger Award. You can see my post about it below. I think your recipes are fantastic + I wanted the world to know!! :) Hope you had a great day!

    http://www.thedailydeelight.com/2012/03/versatile-blogger-awards.html

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  13. Hi Ramona, you definitely have a comfort food going on here and your photos are fantastic. I haven't seen this recipe in years, great job bringing it back. Hope you are having a wonderful day. Hugs.

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  14. Oh my, I apologize for drooling all over the place. This is the bomb.

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  15. Great comfort food dish and looks good. Well done.

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  16. I am sorry I may have to make vegetable a la king with biscuit toppers :D
    I love love love this idea for a dish!

    Cheers
    Choc Chip Uru

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  17. Ooh, chicken a la king, I love this dish. Great idea with the biscuits!

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  18. I love it, that's just like what my mom have made when I was a kid, she prefer to make the chicken broth by herself too, and I know, that is darn delicious :)

    cheers

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  19. This looks so comforting Ramona. I'd like nothing more than to dig in right now.

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  20. This looks so good. I'm going to seriously have to make this soon. I'm a sucker for one skillet dishes, especially if they involve biscuits!! My mom used to make this homemade all the time when I was a kid, and I probably haven't had it in 10 years. Love this!! :)

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  21. It is chicken pot pie without the pie. My husband would eat this right up. Great comforting dinner to serve the family.

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  22. Very Delicious, Ramona! I have to try it 'cause I think my kids would enjoy this very much!!

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  23. I can smell it, I can taste it! This looks like a meal that I use to make with my mom way back when. Forgot all about it. It's been bookmarked for a meal very, very, very soon! Can't wait to bite into it.

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  24. I've never had this classic dish! It looks so yummy though!

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  25. I haven't had Chicken a la King since the school cafeteria. It used to be one of my favorites too and I had totally forgotten. Yours looks WAY better than what I remember though. Great idea putting the biscuits on top too

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  26. OMG Ramona, that dish screams YUMMMMMMYYYYYYY..... I love biscuits and I love chicken pot pie...this version is great!

    Regards,
    Manju

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