Chicken a la King/Chicken Pot Pie Guts

Last Spring, I went to Buffalo, New York to visit one of my closest friends, Julie.  Her Pop is one of my most favorite people in the whole, entire world.  Seriously.  I consider him to be my Italian dad.

When I landed in Buffalo, he had a pot of homemade meatballs and sausage in sauce waiting for me.  Never mind that I landed after midnight.  I love that he tells me that I'm a good Italian daughter.  I heart him.

I ate a ton of good food that he cooked for me while I was there. One night, he made Chicken a la King.  I didn't know what it was, but my friend Julie explained that it was like chicken pot pie but without the crust and served over rice.  I'm sorry....Could you repeat that?  And could you repeat it sloooooowly?  Bowchickabowbow.

It was divine.  I almost can't get enough of this stuff.  I can't tell you how many Marie Callendar's Chicken Pot Pies I've consumed in my entire life.  So this is right up my alley.

This recipe can be used over rice or you can add a top crust and make pot pies.  You can also add dumplings and turn it into Chicken and Dumplings.

So without further ado,  Chicken a la King/Pot Pie Guts

Grab yo self these items:
long grain rice (don't need rice if you're making this into pot pie)
1 large onion
4-5 stalks of celery
2 chicken breasts or thighs
12 oz bag of frozen mixed veggies
garlic
butter
flour
milk and/or cream
2 small potatoes (optional)
pie crust (only if you're making pot pie)

This is probably one of the few times I use long grain rice.  But short grained rice doesn't do well in these types of dishes.  It soaks up the liquid and gets really bloated and lumpy.  I also use long grain rice for my Jambalaya.

Follow the directions on the package.  Side note, I used my rice cooker.  But instead of doing 2 cups of rice to 4 cups of water, I did 2 cups of rice to 3 cups water and it was fine.  I watched this show on rice and did you know that if you "wash" enriched rice, you're washing away the niacin, iron, thiamin and folic acid that they add in there?  This is a total mind buster for me because I grew up always rinsing calrose rice that we ate in my house. But anyway.  Now you know.

In this version, I used raw, frozen chicken.  I've used leftover shredded rotisserie chicken (Costco has the best rotisserie chicken) and that version is delicious too.  But if I use rotisserie chicken, then I have to either already have chicken broth that I made on hand or used canned.  When I use raw, frozen chicken I kill two birds with one stone....no pun intended.  I boil the chicken to use in my recipe and at the same time, I end up making chicken stock that I also use in this recipe.  I should mention that you can use fresh, unfrozen chicken and I have before, but I have an unreasonable fear of working with raw chicken.  I avoid it if I can.  I hate feeling like I have to disinfect everything that the raw chicken came into contact with.

To start, I used a 3 quart pot and filled a little over half way with water.  I added two large frozen chicken thighs (skinless and boneless, of course).  I usually use breasts, but I thought I'd mix it up today.

I added some kosher salt,

and this much crushed garlic.

I brought to a boil and let it simmer on medium for about 40 minutes.

While my chicken was cooking,  I melted 3/4 stick of real butter in a heavy duty pot on medium heat. (Okay.  I used the entire stick....But sometimes, I like to pretend that I'm holding back....)

I chopped up my large onion and 4 stalks of celery.

Add your chopped onion and celery into the pot with the melted butter.  

Season with seasoning salt and pepper.  To me, it smells like Thanksgiving right about now.

By now, your chicken and stock should be cooked so I take out my boiled chicken and put in a bowl.

I'm left with a nice garlic chicken stock.

Using scissors, I cut up my chicken into bite sized pieces.  Or you can use two forks and shred your chicken.  I like both ways.  You decide.   Set your chicken and broth aside.

When your veggies are soft, add 2-3 heaping spoonfuls of flour (add more if you like it thicker).

Essentially, we are making a roux to help thicken your sauce later. 

 Saute for a minute to get rid of the raw flour taste.

Add in 2-3 cups of your garlic chicken broth.  It depends on how thick you want it.  You can always add more as you go.  Or if your chicken a la king is kind of watery, you can add corn starch.  (It's always fixable!)

Add in your frozen veggies now too.  

If you want to add potatoes for pot pie, dice them up and add them now.  Keep in mind to keep them small so they cook fast and are bite sized.  Simmer until your veggies are soft (or your potatoes are cooked).

You've got more options right here.  Milk or heavy whipping cream.  OR milk AND heavy whipping cream. 

You can use just milk to make your recipe creamier or you can just use whipping cream.  I used a little bit of both.  How much?  About 3 tablespoons of whipping cream and half a cup of 2% milk.  Play with it and decide what your preferred combo is.  

Simmer just a bit and get ready to eat!!!

I served this over rice for the win!  You could also spoon over biscuits.  If you're doing pot pies, pour into oven proof pie pan or individual ramekins and cover with pie crust.  Bake until pie crust is golden brown.  

I ended up with more chicken broth than I needed, so I poured it into a container and froze for later use.

Here I am with the inspiration for this post.  Good night, sweet Pop.  I love ya.

*note the brown bag I'm holding.   He packed me a sandwich for my flight home.  😍❤