Always!
Rich this is one I grew up on so I don't know if what the dish is suppose to be, but it what we have called it for 40 years so it is what it is. This is one of my mother-in-laws favorites leftovers for when she is on the road (she is a truck driver who is on the road Sunday night through Friday morning, we provide her leftovers for dinner every night when she is on the road), and it is one of the favorites of my aunt who is our every Thursday night guest. It is also one of my son's least favorite meals. He says its just a lazy cooks version of Potpie and the destroyer of amazing biscuits. But I digress.
Thinking about it just being you and Barb below is a half recipe from what I used last night.
Chicken al King
touch of oil
1/4 onion
1 clove garlic
1/4 cup butter
heaping 1/4 cup flour
1/8 or less cup Half and Half
4 to 6 cups chicken stock/broth
half a chicken cooked your way
veggies of your choice
salt and pepper to taste
your favorite homemade biscuits (I have tried a lot of recipes, I have been standing behind
this one for a good while now)
I grade the onion and micro grade the garlic (I do this because my family doesn't like pieces of onion, but they could be chopped to your liking) and with a touch of oil I cook those for a min or two. Move those into a bowl and add the butter let melt, add flour and half and half adding the needed amount of flour to get the roux right. I let the roux cook for as long as I can stand it and then start adding the chicken stock (I had about half of what I need of homemade stock on hand last night so it was half homemade half store bought) and re-add the onion and garlic. I use a whisk to start to mix the roux and the stock/broth. I think I would start with about 4 cups of stock and then add as needed. (If I only have store bought broth, I may add some better than bouillon at this point)
This is usually the point that I start to make the biscuits, but you know your kitchen and your times so plan those according.
Now lets talk about the chicken, last night was the best this has even been, also the first time I even roti the chicken first for this meal. With this being a bbq site I would say to bbq/roti/smoke/pellet grill that chicken to your liking before this step. The recipe of butter/EVOO/Lemon/micro planed garlic/my favorite ap seasoning will be repeated. I have also oven roasted, boiled the chicken, and used leftover turkey. BUT if you have raw chicken at this point once the broth is in and heating up I would add the raw chicken and get it cooked in the broth before doing anything else.
Now lets talk veggies. The veggies can be whatever you like, my family loves a lot of potatoes, carrots, and peas, they do not like celery or mushrooms, but I also think those and other could be great ideation. I cook the veggies two different ways, pre cook/boil each (more dishes, but quicker) and add toward the end, or let slowly cook in the one pot. I had time yesterday (only worked a half day) so I added the raw carrots first, then later the potatoes, then later the chicken, and last the frozen pea (they had been siting out for a while).
Once you have figured out how to cook and add the chicken and veggies all is in pot and they are getting close to done, it time to get the right thickness and balance of sauce to veggies/chicken. Sometime I have to make another half version of the above roux and add it to thicken it up, sometimes it needs more broth/stock, but other times it's perfect (I don't know). Start to taste, add salt and pepper (bouillion, garlic powder or whatever else you think it needs) to your liking, time the veggies being done exactly when the biscuit timer goes and serve.
