Chicken & Biscuits

Before Alex went back to vacation he requested that I make him chicken & biscuits a la Cheesecake Factory. He had to explain to me exactly what he wanted because the only chicken & biscuits I knew of was just that: chicken and biscuits. What he wanted was mashed potatoes topped with a chicken breast topped with biscuits and all covered in gravy. I tried my best to give him exactly what he wanted, with my little twists here and there. The end result wasn't exactly what he wanted (no mushrooms, sorry!) but it was in the same general food category he was craving, which was comfort food.

Chicken & Biscuits
Source: Adapted from Kristi's Cooking Blog
Serves 3-4

Chicken:
1 tbsp vegetable oil
2 Tbsp unsalted butter
1.5 tsp minced garlic
2 chicken breasts, halved
1/2 bag (4oz) vegetable medley
1/4 cup flour
1 cup condensed chicken broth undiluted (I used a cup of water and 2 tsp chicken bouillon)
1/2 cup dark beer (I used a brown ale)
1/2 cup whipping cream
Salt
Pepper

Dumplings:
1 1/4 cups sifted flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp granulated sugar
2 tbsp melted butter
3/4 cup warm milk

Mashed Potatoes
Your favorite homemade mashed potatoes

Grease a casserole dish with either oil or cooking spray. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a large nonstick skillet, heat oil and butter over medium heat. Add garlic and cook until translucent, about two minutes. Add chicken breasts and cook until juices run clear. Transfer to casserole dish.

Reduce heat to medium. Add vegetables and cook until softened. Sprinkle flour over vegetables, stir well and cook for 1 minute. Add chicken broth, beer, and cream and stir until thickened. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Pour mixture over chicken.

In a bowl, combine the dry ingredients for the dumplings. Add butter and milk and stir just until moistened. Drop dumpling dough, by spoonfuls, onto chicken mixture. Place in oven and cook until a toothpick inserted in center of dumplings comes out clean, about 30-35 minutes.

Meanwhile, make your favorite homemade mashed potatoes.

Serve chicken and dumplings on a bed of mashed potatoes, ladling extra sauce on top.