Book Club Supper

We spent a delightful evening discussing Marley and Me by John Grogan. Since the gathering was at my house, I prepared the food.

Chicken Casserole

1 or 2 tablespoons of olive oil

4 to 6 boneless chicken breasts, cut up into bite-sized pieces and salted & peppered

3 strips of darned good bacon, cut up into ~1/4 inch strips

1 sweet onion, chopped

5 to 6 carrots, diced

dried herbs of your choice (parsley, thyme, or lavender would be my choices – or any combination of the three)

¼ cup flour

2 to 4 cups chicken broth, heated (nuke for a couple of minutes before using)

4 to 6 Yukon gold potatoes, diced

salt

pepper

Warning: All measurements are approximate. Results may vary.

Pre-heat oven to 325 degrees. In a largish heavy bottom pot that can go into the oven (make sure it has a top – I like to use Le Creuset), pour in the olive oil. Heat oil to medium-high, dump in the chicken, and sauté for a few minutes. Use a nylon or silicon spatula to move the chicken bites around. At this point the chicken does not need to be done. Take the chicken out and put in a bowl out of the way. Dump in the bacon, onions, and carrots. Sprinkle some salt. Stir around and let cook until onions are tender. Make sure to stir occasionally so the onions do not burn (if you want to turn the heat down to medium, go ahead). Sprinkle in the herbs. Stir some more. Once the onions are tender, add the flour and stir some more. The flour will soak up the oil and juices and make things a little gloppy. This is a good thing. Before the mixture really browns the bottom of the pot, pour about 2 cups of chicken broth. Scrape the bottom of the pot and stir to incorporate the flour. Put the chicken back into the pot and dump the potatoes into the pot. Pour more chicken broth in until it’s about even with the height of the mixture. Turn the heat up and let the stuff come to a boil. When boiling, cover pot and place in the oven (please, use pot holders!). Keep in oven between an hour and an hour and a half. Take out and serve.

This dish was served with Italian peasant bread from the Metro Bakery and a salad made with my Famous Dressing. If you want my salad dressing recipe go to the pjpink’s famous salad dressing entry.