Chicken, Mushroom and Leek Casserole

When temperatures drop to 40 below in Fairbanks people start to eat a lot of chicken and drink a lot of half and half! For nearly two weeks I could not find chicken or half and half at the grocery store, this combined with our usual lack of  tofu was putting me into protein withdrawal. It was strange to see the entire chicken section loaded with ground turkey. I have never seen so much ground turkey in my life! Buried among the ground turkey I was able to find some turkey cutlets to make the Chicken, Mushroom, and Leek Casserole in the latest Martha Stewart Living. I liked the casserole, actually I made two mini casseroles. I did not enjoy the cutlets in this recipe as they were way overcooked and tasted a little too much like a T.V. dinner.  I would make this again, but definitely use the chicken the recipe recommends.

Chicken, Mushroom, and Leek Casserole

from Martha Stewart Living
Four chicken breasts
1 leek (white and light green parts)
10oz crimini mushrooms
2c chicken stock
3T flour
3T sherry
3/4c milk
8 slices of whole wheat bread, crusts removed, and cut in half as triangles
3/4c parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 375. Brown the chicken breasts in a pot until cooked through. Pull from the pan, but add the leek and mushrooms. Cook until vegetables have browned, and add flour, stirring frequently. After five minutes, add the sherry, chicken stock, and milk. Cook until the mixture thickens, about 8 minutes.

Meanwhile, cut the chicken breasts in half. Layer bread along the bottom of a casserole pan. When vegetable mixture has sufficiently thickened, spoon half of the gravy overtop of the bread. Layer the four chicken breasts (or more) on top of the mixture, and then pour the rest of the vegetable gravy on top. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese, and bake for 20-25 minutes, until bubbling.