The week is nearly over, and I felt it was necessary to get this one out of the way. Prior to making this recipe, I couldn't help but think that this main dish is why Schwann's is in business. Who is their right mind would a) come up with this recipe, and b) think it's good enough to write down to make again? Curiosity is winning here and I'm going to give this a try, and in the end I'll be glad I did and have a few tweaks to share with you to make the process a little smoother and much shorter. Wish me luck... it's a days' (the apostrophe IS in the correct place) long recipe.
Day 1:
To begin I opened a box of frozen Stouffer's Creamed Chipped Beef, following the stove top cooking instructions to ready this ingredient.
Lala loved Chipped Beef served on buttered toast. I loved Chipped Beef served on buttered toast. And then in college, a friend called it Shit On A Shingle, "educated" me on why this was something not to be eaten, and except for a pregnancy craving a decade ago, I haven't touched the stuff. This recipe calls for 1 pkg. of Chipped Beef so naturally I bought two. What if my kids want to try it over toast? I just had to do it.
The first time I used a stove (at all, and it happened to be without adult supervision!) I was in middle school. I had spent the night at Lala's apartment. It was winter time, she had just turned 86. Her apartment was a 1 bedroom, but rather than sleep in the spare twin in her room, I wanted to sleep on the sofa in the living room. When we were younger, my sister and I would have a dual sleepover at Lala's and we would each pick a twin bed and Lala would take the sofa. Her kitchen was nestled between the living room and the bedroom. The bathroom had a pull cord next to the toilet in case of emergency (this proved to be useless when there was an actual emergency a few months after my-first-time-using-the-stove-sleepover). So this winter morning I was hungry. Lala, who had terrible rheumatoid arthritis, coaxed me in to making it myself (presumably while she soaked with epsom salts, or stayed in bed to will herself to get up despite the pain). I followed the stovetop instructions (she didn't have a microwave), and I didn't burn the apartment complex down. I didn't tell my parents that I used the stove by myself. I didn't want my Mom to be angry with Lala, or think her irresponsible. It was at least two years after this that my parents finally let me use the stove at home. And I didn't burn the house down. I've never had a kitchen fire. And although it took a lot of catching up, I'm a very fine cook. Baking isn't my specialty but what I lack in making the cake I more than make up for in frosting it.
So if you follow the stove top instructions on Chipped Beef, it takes time to boil the water, then place the pouch (of frozen chipped beef) in the boiling water, reduce heat and simmer for 18 minutes. This means I have time to prep other parts of this recipe while the chipped beef is thawing and heating.
Step one says to roll chicken breasts and wrap with bacon. Chicken breasts tend to be fairly firm and not interested in being rolled, at least in my experience. Rather than fight them, I first used my Oxo Meat Tenderizer (that's twice in one week for this kitchen item, it's typically only used a few times a year) to pound them flat and more amenable to rolling.
While the chipped beef was on the stove, I managed to not only pound all the chicken breasts, but also roll them and wrap each one with a slice of turkey bacon. I also opened a can of Cream of Mushroom Soup and mixed it in a medium bowl with a 1/2 Pint of Sour Cream (1/2 Pint = 1 Cup). It was perfect timing. You can always make your chipped beef in the microwave but just know that you'll still be working with raw chicken when the microwave summons you.
When working with raw chicken, if you don't already know this, it's important to avoid cross-contamination of raw and cooked ingredients. Be sure to thoroughly clean your hands and all surfaces after working with raw, uncooked, or undercooked chicken. Basically, avoid food poisoning at all costs!
I tried to roll these the long way and then wrap two slices of turkey bacon on the diagonal around each one but that a) failed and b) would have required more turkey bacon. We had turkey bacon with breakfast today and don't have slices to use two per breast. Rolling the short way makes for more bulk, but the turkey bacon wrapped easily around each slice, and they stayed together without a toothpick.
The photo above is what the can of mushroom soup and the 1/2 pint of sour cream look like when they're mixed together. It might be a bazillion calories in a bowl.
The recipe says to spread a layer of chipped beef on the bottom. Done.
Place your chicken wraps however you like in the pan. I thought placing these on the diagonal might make the dish seem "fancy". That could have been true but then I smothered everything with the sour cream soup sauce (see the photo below).
I'm half compelled to run out and buy French's Onion Topping (think Green Bean Casserole) just so it doesn't look like this. Stay true to the recipe, Sarah, you can do it. Resist the urge. In the end, I'm really glad I didn't put the fried onion topping over everything. (It may have been a nice decorative touch to add a couple to the top of the done pieces as they're plated with sauce, topped with a sprig of parsley, and a pile of fried onion curls.)
It was at this point that I texted my husband that I wanted to rename this recipe The Widow Maker. His reply? Lala WAS married to two different men. Of course, we did not know this while she was living. After she passed and we inherited the Family Bible, we found it strange to see Lala was married FOUR times. A phone call was made in haste to her only living sibling, the youngest of the children in their family, my Great Aunt Peg. We had to know more. The first two marriages were to the same man, a farmer. There were no children from this union. Her third marriage was to my Grandfather. Around the time my Uncle was six, and he remembers this, he and my Grandma moved out of their home and in with my Great Grandmother. A few years later, and suspiciously close to the time my Dad was born, my Grandparents were reunited in holy matrimony and lived happily ever after...
At this point in the recipe, we're instructed to refrigerate overnight. I'm not sure that the flavors need to "marry" with this one, but I'll be a sport.
Day 2:
When this came out of the fridge, there was standing water on top of the chipped beef. I'm not sure I'd refrigerate overnight when/if I decide to make this again. I know I'm being incredibly skeptical about this recipe. It just doesn't look that appetizing, but chicken should be moist, given how much cream it's hidden in.
I hope you've all had a wonderful night rest and are ready to spend the WHOLE AFTERNOON in the kitchen while this gently bakes at 275*F for 3 HOURS! That's right, you're turning your full size oven into a Crock Pot. I'm determined to stay true to the original recipe but it's practically a week long saga to make this meal, and I can't even eat it. At least the next three hours give me time to pull something together for myself.
The day this dish baked in the oven happened to coincide with my husband being out of town on business. (He considers himself lucky but in the end will never know what he missed.) Since this dish is full of anti-Sarah food (gluten and dairy), I've persuaded a friend to pop over for a late lunch. I'd save the meal for dinner but on this evening I am scheduled to schlep the kids at 3:45, 4:45, 5:00, 6:30, and get both from different locations at 7pm. Dinner for the kids is likely to be PB&J in the car between pickups and drop offs. And remember, I mentioned my husband is out of town so I will somehow pull this all off single parent style.
I've never tasted this recipe. I've had chicken, turkey bacon, can kind of remember what chipped beef tastes like although in my mind it just tastes like salt and smoke flavor (isn't that basically turkey bacon?). I don't remember the taste or texture of cream of mushroom soup. It's just been too long. Again, salt comes to mind. Since the name Judy is on this recipe, I decided to give my Aunt Judy a call to see how she's doing and find out more about this recipe. According to Aunt Judy, "I don't have any recollection" was her response. She thought it sounded too complicated to be a dish she would have prepared for her family. Aunt Judy said that the most complicated meal she ever prepared while her kids were growing up was Lasagna. And that was only for company. We chatted for a quite a while about how Lala could make any dish, that she was an excellent cook. Aunt Judy shared that Lala would spend all day preparing a meal for a dinner party. By the time company arrived, she would serve the meal to her guests and then excuse herself to rest. This all sounds eerily familiar. By the time I've finished prepping everything for when we have friends over for dinner, which I LOVE having company for dinner, I'm usually so spent that I have little to contribute to the table conversation.
The above photo is what it looks like straight from the oven. It does NOT look appealing. In the next photo, I have removed the chicken from the baking dish.
It looks better outside of the sauce, but still not great. I wanted to check them for doneness so I cut one in half.
You can see the roll, and per my friend's suggestion, this would look beautiful with a kale spiral inside. So now imagine this on a dinner plate, pre-plated of course because I would NEVER show company what it looks like straight from the oven. What really sets it apart is when I take a moment to stir some of the sauce (it got clumpy) with the serving spoon, and ladle it over the top like a gravy.
Now it doesn't look half bad.
The following is an account from my dear friend who offered to be a guinea pig. She is a brave soul!
My first impression is that it's a typical Minnesota hot dish, Midwestern comfort food. Especially cause you've got the cream of mushroom soup in there, that's like a staple. It is really good! It is! Especially for the people in your life that are meat and potato people. It would be awesome stuffed with kale or broccoli for me, but the Midwestern meat and potato people aren't missing the green. I am surprised at how well the chipped beef goes with the chicken. I like the bacon wrap, it gives the chicken a lot more flavor. It's really good. The only weird thing is the way the sauce clumped.
Clumpy Sauce
It's worth trying again, given how much my friend enjoyed it. She even took home leftovers, which is a true testament to how good it must be. Just ignore how it looks and everything will be fine.
If you're brave enough to make this, please let me know how it turns out in the comments below. And as always, remember to follow Caught Red Threaded on Facebook and Instagram for exclusive offers and ideas.
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