Chicken {or turkey} a la king is easy to make, but tastes like you worked your butt off in the kitchen. Ssshhhh … don’t tell my kids how easy this is!
This is not a ‘measure’ recipe. It’s an eyeball-it-how-much-have-you-got recipe.
- Meat – This works with leftover, diced turkey, shredded chicken, a rotisserie chicken from the grocery store, or even lunchmeat that needs to eaten up.
- Frozen veggies – I use equal amounts of peas & carrots mix with corn. You could just use frozen peas if that all you have.
- butter & flour – We’re making a roux here, people!
- chicken broth – I use a box, which is a quart or 4 cups. You can make your own with bouillon, too.
- seasonings > garlic powder, onion powder, black pepper, poultry seasoning
- dairy – Sometimes I splash 1/2 cup of milk, half-n-half, or heavy cream in at the very end. Sometimes I don’t. It’s good either way.
Melt 1 stick of butter in a saucepan on low. When it’s all melted, add your frozen veggies and cook for 5-6 minutes. Keep the temperature low. We aren’t really cooking these as much as defrosting them. When they veggies are thoroughly warm, add an equal amount of flour to butter. In other words, if you added a stick of butter (1/2 cup), add 1/2 cup flour. If you had less butter, use less flour. A roux is equal parts butter and flour.
Stir the flour around so it coats all the veggies. Let it cook for 4-5 minutes, stirring often. Add the broth and stir. The flour will want to clump. Keep stirring! Once everything is incorporated, add the finely diced meat and let it bubble away for a few minutes while you add seasoning.
I don’t measure. I just kinda cover the surface with garlic powder, onion powder and pepper. Use the poultry seasoning sparingly; it can be overpowering. Stir. Taste. Adjust.
To serve: You can serve turkey/chicken a la king over so many things – a warm biscuit, rice, mashed potatoes, noodles, or even toast.
That’s it! Use up your leftovers! Make chicken/turkey a la king!