Chicken Ala King

I don’t keep a scale in my kitchen and prefer no scales in the house...it’s personal. So it’s impossible for me to give you the exact weight on anything unless it’s marked on the package. Suffice to say, I use two handfuls, approximately half the package of Fettuccini noodles, while preparing this dish. The sauce will make enough for a family of 4, but you will need to use the whole package of noodles (7-oz) for that serving.

A neat trick I learned years ago watching the “The Frugal Gourmet” was to allow the sauté/fry pan to heat thoroughly before adding oil, he always repeated “hot pot, cold oil, food won’t stick,” and he was right. Another neat trick is to use wine in foods to help clean the pot and to reclaim the tasty bits that stick, such as flour. Worcestershire can be used in-place of the wine; however, the tastes are considerably different.

Making Roux: Used to thicken sauces.

Sprinkle the flour over the meat and vegetables and stir. It will begin to clump, but not to worry. Be careful not to burn the flour.

Ingredients:

3 tbsp olive oil

3-medium chicken breast cut into 1-inch squares

½ small yellow onion ( for a crunch, use French’s French Fried Onion Rings)

2 tbsp flour

2 tbsp white wine (omit if children are eating this meal)

1-4oz. jar Pimentos

1 tsp Nutmeg

½ tsp Cumin

1 tsp garlic

1 can Cream of Mushroom soup

1 cup milk

3 chicken bouillon cubes

3 slices Provolone cheese or 1/3 cup shredded Mozzarella

½ pkg fettuccini noodles (approx. 3.5-oz)

1 tbsp margarine or butter

¼ tsp salt

Chicken Ala King Sauce

In an 8-oz sauté/fry pan, over medium heat, add oil and allow it to come up to temperature. Add diced chicken and onions (if using French’s onions do not add until end), allowing chicken to cook through and onions to become transparent. Reduce heat to medium and sprinkle with flour, stirring to coat all ingredients. Add white wine; using wooden spoon scrape pan thoroughly to regain lost bits. Add pimentos, nutmeg, cumin, and garlic, stirring constantly. Add cream of mushroom soup, milk, and bouillon cubes, stirring as it thickens; reduce heat to low. When all ingredients have thickened, add 3 slices of provolone cheese (evenly spaced in the pan) or shredded mozzarella evenly sprinkled over mixture, allow cheese to completely melt. While hot serve over fettuccini noodles

Noodles:

Fill 3-quart pot to within an 1 & ½ -inch of rim, add margarine or butter, and salt; allow to come to rolling boil, drop in noodles and cook according to package instructions; approximately 10 to 12-minutes.

My husband will not eat “al dente” pasta, so our noodles are thoroughly cooked. The choice is yours. I haven’t found this dish to be a leftover-friendly, as it rarely reheats well.

Note: The onions, nutmeg, pimentos, bouillon, wine, and cheese, may be omitted from this recipe and you will have a proper chicken ala king, although it will be somewhat bland. The cheese in this dish is a personal preference, with provolone the preferred taste but mozzarella is a good substitute. You might buy Chinese egg noodles and not be obligated to cook fettuccini. Mushrooms, where available and fresh, might be added for that extra earthy taste, and fresh red bell peppers can be substituted for the pimentos. When adding mushrooms, it is unnecessary to add the cream of mushroom soup. The roux mix might be increased to accommodate liquid in the sauce. Bone-in chicken pieces work as well as boneless breast, but it will require skinning, boiling, and removing chicken from the bone, and who needs all that?

Next up: Chicken Enchiladas using Crepes