Turkey and Biscuit Bake

Well it's been a while and it's a new year! Things have gotten a little hectic and we have fallen behind updating!

This was a wonderful dish that was way better than a pot pie. We used left over turkey to make it but imagine that it would be just as delicious with chicken and the biscuits from scratch really make this dish yummy! We did add more veggies to the dish than the recipe called for and do not regret it at all!

Here's the original recipe: https://www.thespruce.com/turkey-and-biscuit-bake-3061833

Ingredients:

6 tablespoons butter
1 medium onion, chopped
1/3 cup flour
2 teaspoons chicken stock base
1/4 teaspoon  poultry seasoning
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 cups milk
3 cups diced turkey meat
2 cups mixed vegetables

Homemade Biscuits:
2 cups flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
6 tablespoons butter
3/4 cup​ buttermilk
1 tablespoon butter (melted, for brushing the tops of the biscuits)

Directions:

1. Heat the oven to 375°F. Lightly grease a large casserole dish.
2. Melt the 6 tablespoons of butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onions and cook, stirring, until tender. Stir in the flour, chicken stock base, poultry seasoning, and pepper. Cook, stirring, until the mixture is blended and bubbly. Gradually add the milk; cook, stirring, until the sauce mixture is thickened and bubbly. Stir in the diced cooked turkey and the vegetables. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the mixture is bubbly, about 5 minutes. Spoon the turkey mixture into the prepared large baking dish.

Biscuits:
1. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, soda, salt, and sugar; whisk to blend dry ingredients thoroughly.
2. With a pastry blender or fingers, work the 6 tablespoons of butter into the dry ingredients until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Add the buttermilk and stir just until the mixture is moistened and the dough begins to hold together.
3. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead just a few times, until a cohesive dough has formed. If necessary, work in a little more flour or buttermilk.
4. Don't overwork the dough or the biscuits will be tough. Drop biscuits on top of the casserole and brush with melted butter.
5. Bake for 18 to 25 minutes, until the biscuits are golden brown and the casserole is bubbly.

What we liked:

Easy, quick and delicious!

What we didn't like:

Nothing, it was yummy

What Kaspian thought about it:

he liked the biscuits...as long as they didn't have any of the filling on them.

Next time:

no changes

King Ranch Chicken and Quinoa Casserole

This recipe looked really appealing with quionoa and rotisserie chicken. It was a little harder to make than expected. The "roasting" of the quinoa in the oven for 14 minutes seemed really un-necessary as it made the quinoa too dry and crunchy. We would avoid that next time.
We substituted bell peppers for poblano peppers as we did not want to make it too spicy.
Overall, this was a pleasant recipe with lots of flavor and quinoa "crunch". It was very different.Here is the original recipe: http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/king-ranch-chicken-quinoa-casserole.
We also used more cheese as 3.5 oz really did not seem like enough. Also, we used more quinoa as there was lots of tomato/chile/chicken mixture. This was a good move. And, we also had to use a bigger pan, there was no way that everything was going to fit into an 8 inch square dish.

Plated 

Cooked - you can see how it's a little crispy on top

Before going into the oven

Ingredients:

2 cups cooked quinoa
5 teaspoons olive oil
2 cups chopped bell peppers
1 1/2 cups chopped onion
1 tablespoon minced garlic
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon chile powder
1 can chicken stock
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 (14.5-ounce) can unsalted fire-roasted tomatoes
1 (4-ounce) mild chopped green chiles frozen or can
2 cups skinless, boneless rotisserie chicken breast, shredded
1.5 cups cheddar cheese, shredded and divided 

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400°.

2. Combine cooked quinoa and 1 tablespoon oil in a bowl. Spread quinoa on a parchment-lined baking sheet; bake at 400° for 14 minutes. - (NEXT TIME - WE WOULD AVOID THIS STEP!)

3. Heat a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add remaining 2 teaspoons oil; swirl. Add bell peppers, onion, and garlic; sauté 5 minutes. Stir in flour, cumin, and chili powder; cook 1 minute. Add stock, salt, tomatoes, and chopped green chiles to pan; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 8 minutes. Remove pan from heat; stir in chicken. Pour half of chicken mixture into the bottom of a  baking dish; top with half of quinoa mixture and half of the cheese. Repeat layers once with remaining chicken mixture, remaining quinoa, and remaining cheese. Bake at 400° for 25 minutes.

What we liked:

It was very different from what we normally make. The rotisserie chicken was very soft and delicious. The quinoa was also very good. 

What we didn't like:

The top was too crispy. Would not crisp the quinoa in the oven next time. 

What Kaspian thought about it:

Nothing. He was too preoccupied with his bread and butter sandwich. To which he added sour cream. And then dipped it into sour cream. How could any dinner compare to that? He then decided to supplement his dinner with pepperoni. 

Next time:

No crisping of the quinoa.