Chicken Stew with Biscuits

First of all, look at that picture. Cute, huh? Artistic, even. Well it was taken with my phone by the Instragram app. I think the photos turn out great with this app and I'll be using it quite a bit from here on out. And the best part is that it's easier than using my camera. A lot of times I won't post a recipe just because it's such a pain to find my camera, take the photo in good lighting and in a nice area and then get the photo on my computer. It's much easier using my phone so that's what it'll be for awhile!

On to the chicken stew recipe! This is really a guest post by my mom. She made this for my birthday dinner and it is so delicious! It's Ina Garten's recipe.

3 whole (6 split) chicken breasts, bone in skin on

3 tablespoons olive oil

salt and pepper

5 cups chicken stock

2 chicken bouillon cubes

1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter

2 onions, chopped

3/4 cups flour

1/4 cup heavy cream

4 carrots, medium-diced, blanched for 2 minutes

1 10-oz package frozen peas

1/2 cups fresh parsley, minced

For the biscuits:

2 cups flour

1 Tablespoon baking powder

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1 teaspoon sugar

1 stick unsalted butter, cold and diced

3/4 cup half and half

1/2 cup fresh parsley, chopped

1 egg mixed with 1 tablespoon water, for egg wash

Preheat overn to 375 degrees.

Place the chicken breasts on a foil-lined, PAM-sprayed sheet pan and rub them with olive oil. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. Roast for 35-40 minutes, or until cooked through. Set aside until cool enough to handle, then remove the meat from the bones and discard the skin. Cut the chicken into bite sized pieces. You will have 4 to 6 cups of chicken.

In a small saucepan, heat the chicken stock and dissolve the bouillon cubes in the stock. In a large pot or Dutch oven, melt the butter and saute the onions over medium-low heat for 10-15 minutes, until translucent. Add the flour and cook over low heat, stirring constantly for 2 minutes. Add the hot chicken stock to the sauce. Simmer over low heat for 1 more minute, stirring until thick. Add 1 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper and the heavy cream. Add the chicken, carrots, peas, and parsley. Mix well. Place the stew in a 10x13x2-inch oval or rectangular baking dish. Place the baking dish on a sheet pan lined with parchment or wax paper. Bake for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, make the biscuits. Combine the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Add the butter and mix on low speed until the butter is the size of peas. Add the half and half and combine on low speed. Mix in the parsley. Dump the dough on a well-floured board and, with a rolling pin, roll out to 3/8-inch thick. Cut out 12 circles with a 2 1/2-inch round cutter.

Remove stew from the oven and arrange the biscuits on top of the filling. Brush them with the egg wash, and return the dish to the oven. Bake for another 20-30 minutes, until the biscuits are brown and the stew is bubly.