Crock Pot Chicken a la King

Ever since I discovered that I could cook a whole chicken in the crockpot (oh, what you can learn on the internet!), I seem to always have some cooked, diced chicken in the freezer.  Not that I'm complaining!  Having the cooked chicken in the freezer has saved me many times when I had no clue what to make for dinner! 

Last year, I was getting bored with our same old, quick chicken dinners.  I was so happy when I found a recipe for Chicken a la King!  I only ever had Chicken a la King once in my life.  I was in the hospital when I was 13 and this was delivered to my room for lunch.  I took a bite and gave the rest to my dad (he brought me some food from Wendy's!). 

I was a picky eater when I was a kid.  A REALLY picky eater!  There are still a few things that I don't like, but not like when I was 13 years old.  I hated everything then! 

As an adult, I've seen many Chicken a la King recipes.  I never thought to try it since all of the recipes called for mushrooms.  Mushrooms are one of the foods that I didn't like as a kid and still don't like as an adult.  The recipes also called for pimientos.  Now, I'm not really sure if I like pimientos or not, I've never eaten them, but I never have them in the pantry either.  So, those Chicken a la King recipes were never made in my kitchen. 

For some reason, it never occured to me to just leave those 2 items out of the recipe.  Seriously?  I don't know why, since almost every recipe I make is usually tweaked and adapted in some way to fit our tastes or what we have on hand. 

Then, last year, I found a Chicken a la King recipe without the mushrooms and pimientos over at Love From the Kitchen!  I am so glad I did, since it became one of my go-to meals.  I served this for many dinners last winter and we just LOVED it. Over the summer, I forgot about it and when I tried to find the recipe this winter, I thought I lost it!  I figured that I really should share the recipe here on my blog, that way I don't have to worry about losing it again!

Chicken a la King

Ingredients:   

• 1 can, condensed cream of chicken soup
• 3 Tbs. flour
• 1/4 tsp. black pepper
• dash cayenne pepper
• 2 cups cooked chicken, diced or shredded
• 1/2 c. celery, diced
• 1/2 c. green bell pepper, diced
• 1/2 c. red bell pepper, diced
• 1/4 c. onion, diced
• 2 c. frozen peas

Directions: 

• add condensed soup, flour, black pepper and cayenne pepper to the bottom of crock pot and stir until combined
• mix in the remaining ingredients
• cook on low for 2-3 hours, until heated through
• serve over cooked rice or toast points

Notes: 

• I love the short cooking time of this meal.  It leaves the veggies still a bit crisp.  The crunch of the celery is a good match for the softer chicken and rice. 
• Need dinner quick?  I'm sure this recipe would work on the stove as well!  I just love the ease of throwing dinner in the crock while Grace is down for a nap. 
• I've considered doubling this recipe since we enjoy it so much.  After we each have seconds, there's usually only a small amount left for lunch (for one person) the next day. 
• If you don't like the idea of using the canned soup for the sauce, there are many recipes online for homemade condensed soups.  I eventually want to have a few batches made and in the freezer for recipes like this.  I just haven't gotten around to that project yet! 
• I gave measurements for the veggies, since a lot of times I prep my veggies for the week ahead of time.  So, I just add in a scoop or two of the vegetables as I'm mixing it up in the crock.  Use whatever combination you like.  (Heck, even add mushrooms and pimientos if you like!)  I don't think you could ruin this recipe at all! 

I'll be linking this post to the following blog carnivals this week: 

• Crock Pot Wednesday
• Ultimate Recipe Swap: Crock Pot Recipes