Chicken Stew with Biscuits

 

This chicken stew with biscuits is a take off of the amazing Barefoot Contessa's. 

Ina Garten's Chicken Stew Recipe

click this cookbook to see Barefoot's recipe

I wish that you could really tell from this picture how much we have loved this recipe.

 You Need:

• 1 whole already cooked rotisserie chicken
• 2 teaspoon Kosher salt and 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 5 cups chicken stock, preferably homemade
• 2 chicken bouillon cubes
• 12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter
• 1 medium sized onion finely chopped
• 3/4 cup flour
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• 2 cups medium-diced carrots (4 carrots), blanched for 2 minutes
• 1 10-ounce package frozen peas (2 cups)
• Celery chopped maybe a cup and a half
• 1 1/2 cups frozen small whole onions "Pearl onions" (if you like them)
• 1/2 cup minced fresh parsley (if you have it ;)

I got all the ingredients ready first. What you will notice about my version, compared to Barefoot's is I do not slow roast bone in chicken breasts or use home made chicken stock. I also do not make home made biscuits. Maybe some day when my kids are grown and I am sitting with a bunch of spare time on my hands I will do that. But today is not that day :)

In a small saucepan, heat the chicken stock and dissolve the bouillon cubes in the stock.
Also here is me melting the butter. ALL 12 Tablespoons of it. NOT LOW FAT!

 Here is me burning the butter. ALL 12 Tablespoons of it. Glad I had extra :)

 In a large pot or Dutch oven, melt the butter and saute the onions over medium-low heat for 10 to 15 minutes, until translucent.

 Add the flour and cook over low heat, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes.

 Add the hot chicken stock to the sauce. Simmer over low heat for 1 more minute, stirring until thick.

Add 2 teaspoons salt

 1/2 teaspoon pepper

 and the heavy cream

 I also blanched the carrots at this point

 Add the Celery

 Add Peas

 Add Chicken

 Add Parsley

 Mix Well

 Place the stew in a 10 x 13 x 2-inch oval or rectangular baking dish. Place the baking dish on a sheet pan lined with parchment or wax paper. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes.

I baked it until my biscuits from the tube :) cooked. These were little ones. In Barefoot's recipe she puts the uncooked biscuits directly on the stew and bakes them that way. But I had a couple bad experiences where the bottom was under-cooked or really not cooked, so I started baking them separately and placing them on top. That was the ticket.

 One bad part to this meal, besides the 12 Tbsp. of butter is the amount of dishes that you have even before you dish up. I washed them before we ate so I had this much less to do after.

 Barefoot's biscuits really sink in and you could definitely push them down in there but it doesn't really matter, it all goes to the same place.

 Remember the post about my body image crisis. I think I said somewhere in there that "I know I cook with butter and cream but not every day..." Well ever since I wrote that I seriously feel like I have been. I need to throw some light meals in somewhere! Again though...
Today was not that day :0)

Enjoy!