A small change has come upon The Waz household this week which is a very welcome change. After working out of town Monday thru Thursday since…hmm… I don’t remember, it’s been a long work season away from home, Andy is now home every evening from work. Their job site this summer is over a 90 minute drive from home, so they’d been staying overnight at a local hotel. They do that so that they can work while the sun shines and still get a decent night of rest before the next day. Daylight Saving rolled around though, and since it’s well and dark by about 5:00 pm, they have plenty of time to drive home, eat a good meal, and get a good night of sleep before the next day. Andy never minds an early morning commute, so he’s pleased with the change. For me it means that I have the opportunity to have a little more fun cooking all week long instead of just on the weekends.
You wouldn’t think that would change things much, having Andy gone so many days a week. I mean, we all need to eat. But I would hesitate to make any of his favorites when he was gone, but then he’d come home for the weekend and it was a mad scramble to make sure he ate good meals at least on the weekend. That led to a fridge full of leftovers for the week that probably didn’t get eaten by the rest of us. Further compounding our problem was that Andy’s hotel did not have a microwave available for him to use. Eating out every day gets old so fast, so we let him take the microwave with him every week. Wow, we’ve often talked about eliminating the microwave from our home. I really don’t use it very often, and it takes up a ton of space. But once without it, I realized how much I do rely on it. It takes a while to soften a stick of butter on the counter when you want to bake cookies and it’s only 65 degrees inside. All those leftovers in the fridge? Require multiple pots and pans to re-heat and consume for another meal instead of just making a plate and giving it a zap. Leftover Chinese take-out was definitely not as good warmed up in the stove as it would have been in the microwave.
So. Now Andy is home every night for dinner, so he’s eating much better. We have the microwave back so I can use the leftovers a meal generates and not be wasteful. And overall we get to settle into a new normal again. For a few weeks anyway until something changes again!
Yesterday morning I was puzzling about what to make for dinner when I saw something pop up on my Facebook feed. It was an Alfredo Chicken and Biscuit bake that was somewhat intriguing. I read through the recipe and discarded it when I saw it called for jarred alfredo sauce as well as canned biscuits. On top of that, you cut the biscuits into pieces and then folded them into the saucy chicken, and I just couldn’t see that working quite right. I envisioned gummy nuggets of biscuit and that didn’t sound good at all. But I liked the idea of those things combined, so I decided I would put together my own creation. I already had leftover chicken sitting in the freezer, so I pulled that out to thaw, as well as a couple of cups of frozen mixed veggies and set to work.
The first step was the alfredo sauce. Real, honest-to-goodness alfredo sauce is made with heavy cream, Parmesan cheese and butter. So decadent and delicious, but this was going to bake in the oven for a bit after it’s creation, and plus I did not have heavy cream on hand. I opted to follow my recipe for Creamy Macaroni and Cheese with a few changes. The first change was garlic, and lots of it. I minced up four large cloves and threw those in the pan while the butter was melting. Once the butter was very fragrant and the garlic somewhat cooked, I added 1/4 cup of flour and stirred that in to make a roux. Next I stirred in one can of evaporated milk, and then used the milk can to add one can of water to the pan as well. I whisked that together until it just started to bubble up, and then added salt, pepper, and 1/2 of a cup of freshly grated Asiago cheese. Once the cheese was melted- which was almost instantly- I stirred in my chicken and frozen veggies, and then turned off the burner and set it aside.
Next I needed the biscuits. My biscuit recipe is quick and easy, so I made up a batch of that for rolling them out (as opposed to drop biscuits, which is what I usually do). I cut out the biscuits with a circle cutter, and then cut each circle into quarters. I re-rolled my dough a few times until I’d used almost all of it up. I had a nice little pile of biscuit nuggets, so then I assembled my casserole.
First the chicken-alfredo mixture when into a 9×13 pan, and then I scattered the biscuit nuggets evenly over the top of that- pressing them in just a touch. Finally, 2/3 of a cup of a Parmesan/Asiago/Mozzarella cheese plend went over the whole thing and it went into a 425ºF oven for 35 minutes- or until the top was nicely browned.
This was really good! It was a tasty change to a regular old chicken pot pie. I loved the addition of the garlicky alfredo sauce. The once change I would make- and my recipe below reflects that- is that I would add some flavor to the biscuits from the inside. Namely, a hint of garlic powder, black pepper, and Parmesan or Asiago cheese. But other than that, it was a very nice dinner and a slightly different way to utilize chicken leftovers. Note: My recipe below assumes that you want to make everything from scratch. By all means, if you like jarred alfredo sauce, feel free to use that. If you like canned biscuits, go ahead and use them. Your ingredient list will be much smaller then.
Chicken Alfredo Casserole
Sauce: 4 tablespoons butter 4 cloves garlic, minced 1/4 cup all-purpose flour 1 (12 ounce) can evaporated milk 12 ounces of water (use evaporated milk can to measure) 1/2 cup grated Parmesan, Asiago or Romano cheese 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 2 cups cooked, shredded chicken 2-3 cups (or one package) frozen mixed vegetables 1/2 cup grated Parmesan, Asiago or Romano cheese (or a blend) Biscuit topping: 2 cups all-purpose flour 1 tablespoon baking powder 2 teaspoons sugar 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder 2 tablespoons finely grated Parmesan cheese 1 stick of butter 2/3 cup milkPreheat oven to 425ºF. Grease a 9×13 baking dish with butter or cooking spray and set aside.
In a saucepan, melt the 4 tablespoons of butter over medium heat. Once melted, add the garlic and cook for 2 minutes, or until nicely fragrant. Whisk in 1/4 cup of flour until nice and creamy and smooth. Slowly add the evaporated milk, followed by the water, stirring constantly. When the sauce begins to bubble, add 1/2 cup of your grated cheese plus salt and pepper. Stir until the cheese is melted and fully incorporated. Add the shredded chicken and the vegetables. Mix well and remove from heat. You can now pour the chicken mixture into the prepared baking dish and spread it evenly. Set aside.
To a fresh mixing bowl, add the 2 cups of flour, baking powder, sugar, cream of tartar, salt, pepper, garlic powder and grated cheese if using. Mix well. Using a pastry blender, cut in the stick of butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add the milk all at once and stir just until the dough starts to come together.
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead the dough a few times with your hands- just until everything has come together. Roll or pat the dough into 1/2-inch thickness. Cut with a 2 1/2 inch biscuit cutter, and then cut each circle into four even pieces with a knife. Gather the scraps and re-roll- repeat until you’ve used all the dough.
Scatter the biscuit pieces evenly over the top of the chicken mixture in the baking dish. Sprinkle your remaining half cup of grated cheese over the top of everything and pop into a 425ºF oven to bake for 30-35 minutes, or until the top is golden brown and the filling is hot and bubbly.
Makes 6 servings.