⭐ Collection
JP's Favorites: Creamy Chicken, Thick Soups and Plenty of Vegetables
These are picked for the way I like to eat: chicken, creamy sauces, thick soups and plenty of vegetables, especially mushrooms, corn, broccoli and potatoes. There isn't a single pepper on this page, and most of them feed a crowd or keep for a few days of lunches.
🍗 Creamy chicken dinners
Chicken divan in cheddar sauce, Alfredo and gravy: the comfort-food end of the chicken aisle.
Chicken Divan (Chicken and Broccoli in Cheese Sauce)
A New York hotel restaurant's secret dish turned into a family casserole: poached chicken and broccoli under a cheddar and Parmesan cheese sauce made with the poaching broth, baked golden and served over rice.
White Chicken Lasagna (Alfredo-Style)
A tomato-free lasagna of tender poached chicken and golden mushrooms in a garlicky Parmesan white sauce, under a lid of melted mozzarella.
American Fettuccine Alfredo
Cream, butter, garlic, a mountain of Parmesan and sliced chicken. The Alfredo on almost every Italian-American menu.
Chicken and Slicks (Appalachian Rolled Chicken and Dumplings)
Browned chicken thighs and breasts simmered in broth with onion, thyme and bay, then flat strips of rolled chicken-fat dough cooked right in the pot and the broth thickened with toasted flour, finished with shredded chicken and parsley.
Garlic Parmesan Wings
Oven-baked wings with crackly skin, tossed in melted butter with fresh garlic, Parmesan and parsley and run under the broiler: the no-heat wing found on many American wing menus.
🥣 Soups that hug back
Chicken noodle three ways, a creamy gnocchi soup with spinach, and a corn soup from Pennsylvania Dutch country.
Creamy Chicken and Gnocchi Soup, Inspired by Olive Garden
Inspired by, not official: celery, shredded carrot, onion and garlic softened in butter, thickened with flour and chicken broth, then store-bought potato gnocchi, cooked chicken, baby spinach, heavy cream and thyme, in one pot in 40 minutes.
Classic American Chicken Noodle Soup
A rich homemade broth from browned chicken thighs with onion and bay, chicken breasts poached in it and shredded, then onion, carrot, celery and thyme simmered in the strained broth with wide egg noodles and finished with parsley.
30-Minute Rotisserie Chicken Noodle Soup
Onion, celery, carrots and thyme browned in butter, simmered in store-bought broth, then egg noodles cooked right in the pot, with the shredded meat of a supermarket rotisserie chicken and frozen peas stirred in at the end, in 30 minutes.
Pennsylvania Dutch Chicken Corn Soup with Rivels
Chicken thighs and breast poached in broth with the stripped corn cobs, then pea-size egg-and-flour rivels and fresh corn, half cut and half grated, simmered until tender, finished with shredded chicken and parsley and topped with chopped hard-cooked egg.
Chicken Soup with Matzo Balls
A golden broth simmered from a whole chicken with carrots, celery, dill and an unpeeled onion, with light schmaltz-and-seltzer matzo balls poached in salted water, then finished in the broth with carrot, parsnip, shredded chicken and fresh dill.
Avgolemono (Greek Lemon-Egg Chicken Soup)
Chicken breasts poached in stock, rice or orzo cooked in the same pot, and five eggs tempered with hot broth until the soup turns silky and pale gold, then sharpened with lemon juice to taste and finished with the chicken and fresh dill.
🥦 Chicken and vegetables, fast
Weeknight wok and skillet dinners with broccoli, mushrooms and peas.
25-Minute Chicken and Broccoli Stir-Fry
The takeout template in 25 minutes: velveted chicken breast browned in a hot wok, tossed with blanched broccoli, carrot, garlic, ginger and scallion in a quick oyster sauce and soy sauce glaze.
Chicken Chop Suey
Velveted chicken breast stir-fried with mushrooms, carrot, celery, bok choy, bean sprouts and snow peas in a light, savory sauce of chicken stock, oyster sauce and soy sauce, thickened at the last second and served over rice.
Hibachi Chicken Fried Rice, Inspired by Benihana
Inspired by, not official: jasmine rice fried with browned chicken, carrot, onion, garlic and soy sauce, crisped in a well of melting butter, then finished with scrambled egg, sesame seeds and scallions, the way the steakhouse chicken rice tastes.
🥔 Sides I'd eat as dinner
Mashed potatoes four ways, wild rice, stuffing and crisp hash browns.
Classic American Mashed Potatoes
Whole russets simmered in their skins, peeled hot and riced, then stirred with melted butter first and warm half-and-half second for a fluffy, creamy holiday mash.
Garlic Mashed Potatoes
Rinsed russet cubes simmered in butter, half-and-half and a little water with a dozen cloves of garlic that were first cooked with a pinch of sugar until sticky and golden, then mashed with more butter.
Irish Colcannon
Floury potatoes steamed in their jackets, mashed with hot milk until fluffy, then folded with an equal volume of buttered Savoy cabbage and served with butter melting in the middle.
Skin-On Smashed Red Potatoes
Small whole red potatoes simmered with a bay leaf, dried, lightly smashed with a spatula and folded with a tangy binder of melted butter, cream cheese and starchy cooking water, so pink skins and chunks remain.
Wild Rice Dressing (Minnesota)
Nutty wild rice cooked in broth, mixed with toasted bread crumbs, onion, celery, garlic, sage and thyme and a light custard of cream, eggs and the rice's own cooking liquid, baked covered until set.
New England Sage Bread Stuffing
Dried French bread cubes tossed with onion and celery cooked in butter, sage, thyme, marjoram and parsley, chicken broth and eggs, baked covered until fragrant and then uncovered until a golden crust forms.
Pennsylvania Dutch Potato Filling
Half mashed potatoes, half stuffing: boiled potatoes beaten with milk, eggs and parsley, mixed with onion and celery cooked in butter and buttery toasted bread cubes, and baked until crusty on top.
Utah Funeral Potatoes (Cheesy Potato Casserole with Corn Flake Crust)
The Utah potluck and after-funeral classic: shredded potatoes in a creamy sour cream and cheddar sauce under a buttery corn flake crust, enough for a crowd of twelve.
Make-Ahead Hash Brown Patties
Shredded Yukon Golds rinsed in salt water, wrung dry, microwaved until they bind, pressed into oval patties, chilled and pan-fried crisp, like the freezer-aisle patty, from scratch.
🧀 Cheese, please
Baked macaroni, a box-style mac and cheese made from scratch, potato and cheddar pierogi, and a big pan of baked ziti.
Virginia House-Wife Baked Macaroni (1824)
The earliest known printed American mac and cheese: macaroni boiled in milk and water, layered with sliced cheese and butter, and baked in a hot oven.
Blue Box Style Mac and Cheese (Homemade Mix)
A homemade pantry mix of cheddar cheese powder, dry milk and mustard that turns hot elbows into bright, smooth boxed-style mac in about 15 minutes. Inspired by Kraft Macaroni and Cheese, not official.
Pittsburgh Potato-Cheddar Pierogi with Butter and Onions
Tender sour cream dough wrapped around smooth mashed russets with sharp cheddar and butter, boiled and tossed in a skillet of onions caramelized in butter, the way western Pennsylvania serves them.
Baked Ziti (No-Boil, with Ricotta and Mozzarella)
Ziti soaked in hot salted water instead of boiled, stirred into red sauce with ricotta, Parmigiano, eggs, cream, herbs and cubes of mozzarella, then baked covered and uncovered at 400°F until bubbling and browned.