Saturday, March 30, 2019

Review of Stouffer's Escalloped Chicken and Noodles

Collage of Stouffer's Escalloped Chicken and Noodles

I remember being introduced to Stouffer's Frozen Foods as a teenager in the 1950s when my Uncle Pete went to work for them in Cleveland (the home base of the company).  Frozen foods were fairly new to us at the time and my parents found them to be very handy for quick dinners after working all day.

I found the Stouffer's meals delicious and, as a result, I have been a fan of them ever since. I have tried a large variety of frozen dinners over the years, but none as good as Stouffer's. 




My very favorite is Stouffer's Escalloped Chicken and Noodles, a hearty combination of white meat chicken, egg noodles, mushrooms, celery, carrots and peas in a creamy sauce


Old-Fashioned Home-Cooked Escalloped Chicken Recipe


Church cookbook
(c) Elf
An old-fashioned 'from-scratch' recipe for Escalloped Chicken comes from the Garden City Cookbook (Centennial Edition) published in 1979 by The Community Church

My in-laws lived in Garden City, Kansas and this cookbook was compiled by church members to celebrate the 100 year anniversary of the first church in Garden City and dedicated to all of the brave pioneers who in 1879 organized the First Congregational Church in town. First published in 1908 and revised and re-published in 1930, this cookbook is the 1979 edition.

The recipes contained in this Garden City Cookbook were favorites of current church members, many of which were passed down from generation to generation. 


Aunt Alta's Escalloped Chicken


Escalloped chicken and noodles
INGREDIENTS:

1 can mushrooms
1 (4-5 lb.) stewing hen or large fryer
Salt
Celery Salt
Paprika
2 c. fine cracker crumbs
1 recipe of white sauce

WHITE SAUCE:

4 T. chicken fat or butter or oleo
3 heaping T. flour
Broth from chicken and juice from mushrooms
1 c. milk or cream

INSTRUCTIONS:

Boil and then simmer hen until tender and done.  Take meat from the bone and cut in small pieces about ¾-inch long. 

Make medium white sauce.  Put layer of cracker crumbs in flat pan and then a layer of chicken and mushrooms. Season to taste with salt, red pepper and celery salt. Pour almost half the sauce over this and make another layer of each. Pour remaining sauce over this and sprinkle cracker crumbs on top and a little paprika. Bake 450◦ for 30 to 60 minutes, depending on the depth of the pan.

*Author's Note: This 'from-scratch' Escalloped Chicken recipe does not call for noodles, but I imagine noodles could be added or even served on the side or spoon the dish over cooked  noodles.  If you choose to use cream instead of milk, you will find that the dish is very rich. Yum.

Additional Notes:


Chickens in the farmyard
Source: Pixabay
This long-ago 'from-scratch recipe is a bit amusing to read, especially the parts about the 'chicken fat' and referring to the chicken as a 'stewing hen'. These are terms we don't use much today. Garden City, Kansas, back in the day, was primarily a farm-based small town in western Kansas, so I can imagine many of the 'stewing hens' were raised by the farmers for their own use. If you were to ask today's 'kids' about where chickens come from, they'd no doubt say “the grocery store” (unless they are farm kids). 


Summary


If you want to make your own homemade escalloped chicken, try the old-fashioned recipe I've featured in this article.  

Or try the one I found online on the Go, Go, Go Gourmet blog for a homemade recipe that duplicates the Stouffer's dish called Stouffers Copycat Escalloped Chicken and Noodles.

When you want the same as a quick, and delicious, dish, use Stouffer's  Escalloped Chicken and Noodles.

For quick, yet tasty, dishes with a wide variety of choices, give Stouffer's Frozen Meals a try.


Happy Eating











For more food recipes, check out:



Review & Recipe by (c) Wednesday Elf 3/23/2019





Note: The author may receive a commission from purchases made using links found in this article. “As an Amazon Associate, Ebay (EPN) and/or Esty (Awin) Affiliate, I (we) earn from qualifying purchases.”


6 comments:

  1. Of course, I have heard of Stoffers, but I don't believe I have ever tried one of their frozen dinners. I hope our local grocery store carries the escalloped chicken & noodles because I would love to try one. It sounds delicious!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Most grocery stores carry a large variety of the Stouffer's frozen meals and they often have 'special sales'. I keep a few in the freezer for those days I don't have time to cook... or forgot to take something out of the freezer for dinner. :)

      Delete
  2. Thanks for the warning, I am now hungry and I don't have anything in the freezer to help me out. I guess there will be a trip to the supermarket in the very near future for me. I love any meal with a good sauce to make it tasty and this sounds really good. Thanks Pat for this review.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for visiting, Olivia. Hope you enjoy trying this, or one of the other tasty Stouffer's meals.

      Delete
  3. In my top two of Stouffer's ! Have never made it though :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Lots of work to make this recipe from scratch, Tracey, but it sure is good. Most of the time I go with Stouffer's as it's so handy and quick, especially if you are cooking for just one. Thanks for your visit.

      Delete

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