Chicken a la Queen

This dish is a quick dinner, easy to fix from leftovers. All day long I was thinking about the baked chicken in my refrigerator, wondering what to do with it. I kept remembering the Chicken a la King pouches that we had when I was a kid.... a conglomerate glop of chicken, gravy, peas and stuff, served over toast. It was in a boilable bag, taken straight from the freezer, drop into a pan of boiling water and in 10 minutes it's ready. I guess that was the precursor to today's microwave instant dinners. Anyway, it tasted good back then, although today I don't think I could eat it (chemicals and preservatives just don't appeal to me any more).

So I came home and concocted this stuff on the fly. As with all my dishes, you are strongly encouraged to experiment and create a dish that speaks to your palate. This is what I did;

• 1 cup Trinity,

sauteed in

• 3 TBsp butter
• 1 Tsp Cajun spice
• 1 splash Worcestershire
• 1 splash hot sauce

When the Trinity is translucent, stir in

• 3 TBsp flour,

stirring until smooth and beginning to brown. Then add

• 2 cups stock (chicken, beef, fish, whatever... I used clear BeanPot stock!)

Bring all to boil, then stir in

• 1-1/2 Cups mixed vegetables (peas, carrots, corn... like frozen soup mix, but make sure it is cooked first -- like leftovers, or from a can. Do NOT put frozen veggies into the hot dish already cooking!)
• 1 can cream of mushroom soup
• 3 Cups cubed cooked chicken, without skins (I just cubed a couple previously cooked chicken leg quarters!)

Bring all to boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 10-12 minutes, until all is hot and thick.

Tear bread into shreds (or you can use toast, biscuits, noodles, rice, or whatever you like), ladled over with Chicken a la Queen, then sprinkle with grated cheddar cheese.

WARNING -- one dinner plate of this stuff is VERY FILLING! But it was oh-so-very-good that I had another half plate.... and now I'm writing about it with a bloated belly!!