King Of The Castle

The origin of any "a la King" meals is difficult to determine. It could be that the first of the creamy chicken dishes was created by someone with the last name King, or perhaps that an owner of a restaurant had the name King and it was his favourite dish, or maybe a chef just thought that the dish he whipped up was fit for a king.

Regardless of the origin, I think that the meal is comforting and easy to make when I'm feeling a little under the weather. And these aspects of preparing the dinner make me love it.

Here's my easy recipe for Turkey a la King. You can serve it with pasta or with toast, but I prefer toast because it saves me a pot to clean and that sure helps to make it even easier!

Turkey a la King 

1/4 cup butter

1/4 cup flour

2 cups milk

2 tablespoons fresh, chopped parsley (optional, because I was out when I made it last time and it was still tasty)

2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

1 pinch of salt and pepper

1 cup frozen peas

1 cup fresh red pepper, chopped

1 1/2 cups cooked turkey or chicken

Toast or pasta to serve the Turkey a la King on

1. Begin your sauce. Melt butter in a pot on the stove at medium heat. Add flour when butter is melted and stir to combine. Gradually add milk, whisking constantly. Allow sauce to come to a boil, then add parsley, Dijon mustard, and salt and pepper to taste. 

2. Stir in peppers, peas, and poultry. Cook another minute to allow peas to defrost and chicken and peppers to warm. 

3. Serve on toast or pasta and enjoy!

If you think this recipe wasn't unique enough to share, you're right. I've had this photo in a file on my computer just waiting for a great idea to pop into my head that perfectly complements this recipe. 

Finally, the idea came and I created Turkey a la King Cups, a great lunch idea that makes the leftover creamy turkey sauce into something new and special. 

Turkey a la King Cups 

1 cup of leftover Turkey a la King, sans the pasta or toast

8 pieces of bread

1/4 cup of butter to butter the bread with, you may not need all the butter

2 cups spinach

1/2 cup cucumber, sliced

2 tablespoons of vinaigrette salad dressing

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 

2. Remove crusts from bread and butter all slices generously on one side. Cut six of the slices of bread in half and cut the remaining two slices into quarters. 

3. Press one quarter of bread (butter side down) into six sections of a muffin tin. Line the edges of the muffin tin sections with two pieces of the halved bread each (butter side against the muffin tin). Press down on the bread to secure it. 

4. Divide the leftover Turkey a la King mixture among the six muffin tin sections and top with the remaining six quarters of bread (butter side up). 

5. Bake the Turkey a la King Cups for 12-15 minutes or until the tops begin to brown. 

6. When the Turkey a la King Cups are finished baking, run a butter knife along the edge of each muffin tin section and spoon the cups onto plates, flipping the cups over so that the pretty side of each packet shows. 

7. Serve with a fresh salad and enjoy!

And before you ask, yes this is the same picture from my Crispy and Creamy Mushroom Packets. I told you that Turkey A La King was an easy recipe and I was feeling like saving myself a little time so I am doubling up on the photo. 

But easy doesn't mean just ok, this recipe is still a winner in my books!