Chicken a la King

Sometimes when I surf the blog food world I feel like there are recipes that everyone else have been eating their whole lives and for some reason I've missed out on it since I've never heard of it. Chicken a la King is one of those recipes. A few weeks ago I put this on my "To make" list and since that time I have seen variations of Chicken a la King on several different food blogs. Ultimately, I ended up choosing the recipe posted by Real Mom Kitchen.

As posted, this recipe provides:
412 calories
21.0 g fat
11.8 g carbohydrate
1.4 g fiber
43.1 g protein
(Just the chicken topping, not including whatever you serve it on)

Unfortunately this recipe calls for mushrooms which are a no-go for the husband. So I substituted carrots for mushrooms. (I know this is not an equal substitution but I was just trying to use up some of the crisper drawer). I will post the recipe with mushrooms, however.

There were two big substitutions that I made. I substituted 2 Tbsp olive oil for the 1/2 cup of butter. a.) olive oil is made from monounsaturated fats which are heart healthy fats vs. butter which is full of saturated fats or artery clogging fats and b.) 1/2 cup of butter seemed like a WHOLE HECK OF A LOT of butter to saute and I felt I could get the job done with 2 Tbsp of olive oil. I may have missed out on the richness in taste but I think my heart thanked me. I also substituted skim milk for half-and-half. This obviously cuts out on a ton of fat and calories. Another substitution would be to buy fat free half-and-half. It would make it a little more creamy like the original recipe.

I served this on reduced fat Grands biscuits but you could also cut down on calories/fat by serving on whole wheat toast or other low fat/high fiber carb.

Chicken a la King - BETTER

2 Tbsp olive oil
1 cup diced celery
1 cup fresh mushrooms
2 cups diced onion
5-6 Tbsp flour
3 1/4 cup chicken broth
1 (4oz) jar diced pimento
2 cups skim milk (or fat free half-and-half)
3 1/2 cups diced cooked chicken breasts
puff pastry shells, toast points, biscuits, rice or noodles to serve over

Saute celery, mushrooms, and onion in olive oil over medium-low heat to reach desired tenderness.

Gradually add 5-6 tbsp flour, stirring constantly to incorporate.

Turn up heat. As mixture thickens, add chicken stock and milk.

Then stir in chicken and pimento. Spoon chicken mixture into puff pastry shells or over toast points, biscuits, rice or noodles to serve. Makes 8 servings.

Per serving (not including whatever you serve it over):
283 calories
6.0 g fat
12.2 g carbohydrate
1.4 g fiber
43.3 g protein