Chicken and Biscuits

Who doesn't need a little comfort food from time to time? I certainly do and I know my family does! This creamy stew with chicken and vegetables and topped with warm biscuits surely hits the spot.

I adapted this recipe from one I found in a Barefoot Contessa cookbook. (Don't you just love her?!)

Start by roasting a few chicken breasts

Bring chicken broth to a boil and add carrots and onions

Make a roux of butter and gluten free flour

Once carrots are tender, add broth to roux, then add peas, milk, and chicken

It already looks so yummy at this point. It gets better with biscuits!!

Chicken and Biscuits

For the Stew

About 5 chicken breasts (I used boneless, skinless)

Olive oil

5 cups chicken broth

1 1/2 cups sliced carrots

1 cup diced onion
1 cup diced potatoes, optional

1 1/2 sticks of butter

1 cup of gfree flour (I used white rice)

2 cups frozen green peas

1 1/2 teaspoons seasoning salt

1 teaspoon pepper

2 cups milk

For the Biscuits

2 cups gfree flour 

1 teaspoon xanthan gum

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon sugar

1 stick of cold butter, diced

3/4 cup buttermilk

1 tablespoon dried parsley

1 egg beaten with a little water (for egg wash)

Preheat the oven to 375°.

Place chicken breasts on a sheet pan, brush olive oil on them. Season with salt and pepper. Roast them for 30 minutes or until done.  Set them aside to cool, then dice.

In a medium - large pot, heat the chicken broth to a boil.  Add in the carrots and onions.( if using potatoes, add them here too) Reduce heat and let cook until carrots are tender.

In a separate large pot, melt butter and whisk in flour. Whisk constantly. Add the broth mixture to the flour mixture, keep stirring. Add the seasoning salt and pepper.

Next add the milk. Continue whisking. Then stir in the frozen peas.  If mixture seems too thick, add a little water until desired consistency is reached. (I had a few leftover boiled potatoes the last time I made this. I diced them and added them in with the peas. Again, potatoes are completely optional)

Stir in the diced chicken.

Pour into a large greased casserole dish.

Bake for 15 minutes.

While it's baking, make the biscuits.

Combine the flour, baking powder, salt, sugar, and xanthan gum in the bowl of an electric mixer. Add the butter and mix on low speed until the butter is the size of peas.  Add in the buttermilk and combine. Gently mix in the parsley.

Dump dough on well floured surface. Roll out to 3/8 inch thick. Cut 12 circles with a round biscuit cutter.

Remove casserole from oven and place the biscuits on top of the chicken mixture. Brush them with the egg wash and return casserole to the oven. Bake for 25 - 30 minutes or until the biscuits are done and stew is bubbly.

I hope you find this as delicious as my family does!

Guest Room Makeover

*Warning--- lots of pictures!*

I have already blogged about our guest room once before. I was looking for ideas then to spruce up that room. That was a few years ago and this is basically what the room looked liked up until a couple of weeks ago.

We actually had been dealing with a leak for a few years. After several "repairs" and numerous contractors over those few years, we were finally able to determine that the cause of the leak was coming from the window in that room. So naturally we had to have the window replaced. Well, it sounded like a great opportunity to make-over that room----again!

This time I really wanted to make the room brighter and more calming. I want my guests to feel relaxed and well rested. In order to brighten the room, the navy roman shades need to go and the furniture needed a face lift. That chest of drawers was my husband's grandmother's. I had to really convince him to let me paint it. 

The bed did not have a headboard and we could never find one that we loved. Then we came across an old bi-fold door that I knew would work perfectly.  All it needed was some paint. I had been holding onto a can of Annie Sloan Duck Egg Blue chalk paint for months..just waiting for the perfect piece to use it on. 

This is  the door before I painted it. 

 And here it is after, used as a headboard.

See that chest of drawers...I love it painted in Duck Egg blue! Painting just that piece brightened the room so much.

I took out the old nightstands and added these vintage suitcases. They make pretty cool bedside tables. 

Old books

Found an older fan in the perfect color for this room.

Chocolate for my guests :)

Sweet corner to rock and read.

This picture used to hang above the bed. I found it at a thrift store years ago and still like it a lot. I just moved it to another wall. 

Looking into the redesigned guestroom.

A better look at the painted chest of drawers.

Crisp and bright.

There are still a few more things left do. We want to rip up the carpet and install laminate wood flooring. We also need to touch up the paint in a couple of spots. I might even hang some white plates on the wall above the suitcases. We really like how the room turned out. Hope you did too!

Cutting Mats or Place Mats?

I learned about these plastic cutting mats on a TV cooking show. They were showing how to use two of them to flatten meat. It is a lot less mess than sandwiching your piece of chicken between plastic wrap. I thought it was such a great idea so I went right out and picked up a pack of three.

Well after I got home and opened them up, I thought they would be GREAT to use as place mats. Especially for outdoor dining. They can wipe right off easily, they are the perfect size, and they come in three bright colors. So...the next time I was at the store, I purchased two additional packs. I store them separately from the ones I do use as cutting mats. (the knife marks are quite visible)

 It did not take us long to set the table outside with some fun color.

 Blue mason jars are always a fun addition to any table.

Just thought I'd throw in a picture of a yummy salad :-)

Another shot of the table with the sun shining down.


So go out and grab some plastic cutting mats....they make terrific place mats!