Chicken a la King

I first tasted Chicken a la King in 1977. I was a busy young mother and so enjoyed our weekly Relief Society Meeting. Every Tuesday morning the women in our church would meet and have a lesson. We taught one another Spiritual Living, Homemaking and Cultural Refinement lessons. There was also a nursery for our children, we each took a turn being Nursery Leader. Once a month we had a luncheon, this is where I met Chicken a la King.
My mother often made Creamed Tuna on Toast, a simple, comforting, weeknight meal.  Once I tasted Chicken a  la King I found my new comfort food. It was Creamed Tuna on steroids.
 This recipe comes from the Lion House Classics Cookbook. This is a great recipe to use leftover turkey or chicken. I made it with a rotisserie chicken--yummy. Enjoy my updated recipe.

 Chicken a la King
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup diced onion
1 cup sliced mushrooms
4 tablespoons flour
1 can chicken stock
1 cup milk
2 cups cooked chicken or turkey
1/4 cup chopped green pepper
1 small bottle chopped pimientos
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Melt butter in large dutch oven: add onions and mushrooms and cooked till lightly browned. Add flour, stir to blend. Add stock and milk, stirring constantly. Cook until mixture thickens and comes to a boil. Fold in remaining ingredients. Serve over toast points, rice, noodles, mashed potatoes or puff pastry.
Serves 6

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread

I was in the mood for pumpkin--love it! I looked at several recipes for Pumpkin Bread. I wanted to include plenty of chocolate, nuts and spices. I started with a recipe on Prudence Pennywise, made minor changes and was happy with the results. 

Because this recipe has plenty of chocolate chips it just might stick. Pam alone will not do the trick (how do I know??). So grease and flour your loaf pans. I didn't have any Pam with Flour, I'm sure that would work. Next time I make this recipe (later today) I will use Mini Chocolate Chips from KAF. This recipe was a hit, even in it's imperfect condition. I also found out that friends would rather get an imperfect loaf of Pumpkin Bread than no Pumpkin Bread!

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread

2 cups solid pack pumpkin

1 cup vegetable oil

3 cups sugar

2/3 cup water

4 eggs

1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 and 1/2 teaspoons salt

3 and 1/2 cups flour

1 cup chopped walnuts

1 cup chocolate chips

 In a large bowl, combine pumpkin, oil, sugar, water and eggs, mixing well. Add in cinnamon, nutmeg, soda and salt. Very gently, stir in flour until just combined. Stir in walnuts and chocolate chips.

Fill greased and floured loaf tins 2/3 full. Bake at 350 until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Large loaves take about an hour smaller ones 45-50 minutes. This recipe makes a lot. I got 2 large loaves and 2 medium size loaves. Let cool on a rack for ten minutes before removing from pan.

Candise's Cherry Comfort Bars

These bars were a hit in the 80's, with a little updating the recipe works today. It is a yummy bar cookie that can be dressed up with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or a dollop of sweetened whipped cream. I like them with blueberry filling or apple pie filling, so many yummy options.

Candise's Cherry Comfort Bars
1 3/4 cup sugar
1 cup butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla
4 eggs
3 cups flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 can cherry pie filling
Cream butter and sugar, add vanilla and eggs. Combine flour and baking powder and add to creamed mixture. Mix gently. Spread 2/3 of batter in a greased and floured bar pan. Spread pie filling on top. Drop remaining batter by teaspoonfuls on top.
Bake 350 for 35-45 minutes. Cool and drizzle with glaze. Top with 1/2 cup sliced almonds.
Glaze
1 1/2 cup powered sugar
3 tablespoons milk or cream
3/4 teaspoons almond flavoring
Linked to Everyday Sisters Sharing Sundays

Food Processor Cookies

I can have these cookies ready to bake in the time it takes the oven to preheat. Made completely in the Food Processor (one of my favorite kitchen power tools) this cookie is delicious and quick. I change the kind of nuts and chocolate, it is always a hit. It makes 2-3 dozen depending on the size. Just enough to share.



1 egg
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 stick butter (softened and cut into 8 pieces)
1 T vanilla (yes, this is a tablespoon, not a teaspoon.  Use real vanilla, of course, not imitation.)
1 1/3 cups flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup walnuts
1/2 cup oatmeal (regular, not instant)
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350.  Buzz first 5 ingredients in processor 30 seconds.  Scrape down and buzz 5-7 seconds more.  Distribute flour, salt and baking soda over mixture in processor.  Scatter nuts, oats and chips on top of that.  Buzz on/off 10 times.  Don't over mix.  Just give a swipe with a spatula to any flour that looks unmixed (it really will be okay).

Drop by teaspoonful 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheet.  Bake 10-12 minutes.

Let stand 1 minute on sheet.  Remove and cool on wire racks.  That's it.  Really easy and really good.

TWD Not-Just-For-Thanksgiving Cranberry Shortbread Cake

What a fun cake to make! Cranberries, sugar and orange bubbling away to a gooey, thick, tart jam. I had some on an English Muffin for breakfast, it was quite tasty. The jam can be made up to two weeks in advance but it may disappear...That is why I made just half the shortbread recipe and baked it in a cute six inch springform pan.

The smaller circle of dough was easy to work with. I rolled it between two layers of plastic wrap and placed it right in the pan. I spread 1 cup of my yummy jam over the bottom layer and topped it with another circle of shortbread dough. Very easy.

The small spring form pan baked 35 minutes. I let it cool for 20 minutes and removed the sides of the pan. I had a festive looking dessert that served at least 5. It was delicious. Yes, I will make it again.

I can tell I need to plan better, with the time change I was out of light by about 5. Check Jessica's blog 'A Singleton in the Kitchen' for the complete recipe. As always there are many great TWD bakers, see what they did with this yummy recipe.

French Dip Sandwiches

I was introduced to French Dip Sandwiches at a local diner 40+ years ago. Tender roast beef  piled on a toasted bun is good , but add provolone cheese and dip it in a little cup of aujus and it almost feels gourmet!
This dish is always a welcome dinner entree. For years I made it with left over roast beef and a packet of au jus mix, it was good.
I found a winning recipe on Our Best Bites. Now French Dip Sandwiches are not a 'leftover' but a meal fit for company.

French Dip Sandwiches
1 2.5-3 lb beef roast
2 Tbsp. olive oil
salt & pepper
2 1-ounce packages onion soup mix (there are generally 2 packages in a box)
2 cups water
2 cans beef broth
6-8 large buns (these are generous servings)
Swiss, provolone, or mozzarella cheese

Heat oil in a large pan over medium-high heat.  Salt and pepper roast.

When hot, carefully place roast in pan and sear all sides. You are not cooking the meat, just browning it quickly on each side to add flavor and seal in the juices.  After it is browned place the roast in a crock pot and cover with both packages of onion soup mix.  Add water and beef broth.  Cook 8-10 hours on low, or 4-5 on high and another 3-4 on low.  You can't make a mistake with this part!  Basically the longer it cooks the more tender it will be.  You will know the meat is done when it easily pulls apart with a fork.  When the meat is done remove from crock pot and shred into chunks with a fork.

Place meat on crusty rolls. Top with cheese and broil just until cheese is melted.  Don't answer the phone or try to load a few dishes in the dishwasher.  The rolls and cheese will not be tasty when burnt black! Serve with au jus on the side.

TWD Peanuttiest Blondies

'Cool completely before cutting.' Am I the only TWD baker that struggles with this concept? Do people really wait for baked goods to cool? I am not a patient person and daylight was fading. So I did cut before cool resulting in ragged edges. But those ragged edges are delicious!  I'm not sure about the cinnamon so I ate another ragged edge. I might delete it next time.

So my Blondie's are cool, they do cut much easier. This is a wonderful mix of peanut butter, peanuts and chocolate. The complete recipe can be found on Nichi's blog Bakeologie. I think this is one you will want to make.