Today I’m sharing a new recipe, Creamed Chicken over Cornbread, I came across while searching for ways (besides Chicken Pot Pie) to stretch a whole chicken. It has quickly become a family favorite! This hearty, warm, comforting, winter meal that had my children all going for seconds!
When we started raising our own chickens, one of the biggest challenges I faced was transitioning away from the boneless, skinless chicken breast mentality. I had to learn how to actually use a whole chicken. Before the only time, I’d ever buy a whole chicken was for Homemade Chicken Soup. Not only did I have to learn how to cut a whole chicken into pieces, how to roast a whole chicken, but also how to use all the leftover chicken meat when using a whole bird.
Stretching a whole chicken is a really great way to make the bird last long, but everyone still gets a bit of meat on their plate! These little bits of the household economy all add up over time, reducing our meat consumption, and allowing us homesteaders to raise more of our own meat (maybe even 100% of it!)
Recipes to Stretch a Chicken
- Biscuit-Topped Chicken Pot Pie
- Chicken Haluska
- Turkey or Chicken Enchilada Spaghetti Squash
- Meat Stock to use in soups (like Bacon Mushroom Soup) or to make gravy (for over Buttermilk Biscuits)
- Chicken Chili
- Easy Chicken Alfredo with Swiss Chard
- Chicken Chile
- Chicken & Dumplings
- Chicken Tacos
- Chicken Enchiladas
After the first meal, everyone agreed the original recipe’s ratio of cornbread to chicken was off but even after doubling we all thought it would taste much finer on my cornbread recipe. I reduced it by half and found it perfect and didn’t mind at all having to experiment a bit to get it just right because even the nights where it was not-quite-right, it was so satisfying!
Creamed Chicken over Cornbread is really pretty simple to make too! After cooking down the onions and celery in butter (which makes the whole house smell like Thanksgiving morning), a simple gravy is prepared. The already-cooked and shredded chicken is warmed in the gravy while the cornbread is cooking in the oven. Scratch-made comfort food at it’s finest!
Creamed Chicken Over Cornbread
~Creamed Chicken Over Cornbread~
Ingredients
- Creamed Chicken:
- 1/2 stick butter
- 2 Tablespoon celery, minced
- 1 Tablespoon onion, minced
- ¼ cup flour
- 2 cups chicken stock
- 1 cup cream
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
- 2 cups cooked chicken, diced
- Cornbread:
- 1 ½ cups flour
- ½ cup sugar
- 1 cup cornmeal
- 1 Tablespoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 eggs
- ½ cup butter, melted
- 1 cup milk
Instructions
- For the Cornbread:
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
- Grease a 10" cast iron skillet with a little butter.
- Whisk together the dry ingredients in one bowl and the wet ingredients in another and then stir them all together.
- Pour into the skillet and bake for 30 minutes.
- Toothpick test to make sure they're done.
- For the Creamed Chicken:
- Melt the butter in a large skillet and saute the celery and onion until they're clear.
- Add the flour and whisk for a minute.
- Add the stock, cream, and seasonings, bringing to a boil.
- Cook, stirring, until the gravy thickens- about 4 minutes.
- Add the chicken and simmer until heated through.
- To Serve:
- Slice the cornbread into serving sized pieces and spoon the creamed chicken over the cornbread.
Enjoy!
Original Recipe Credit: At My Grandmother’s Knee: Recipes & Memories Handed Down By Women of the South
Your recipe looks really good but I was just thinking that maybe we could put a Mexican fling on it by adding creamed corn, onions, peppers, and black beans. Just a thought… 😀
Sounds like a tasty thought! Will have to give that a try 🙂