How to Make Chicken Loaf and EZ Chicken Gravy

Leftovers have been the inspiration of necessity in many families. The first time I had this meal I was shocked to find out it was made from leftovers. This also was one of those recipes that Mom never wrote down because it changed based on what she had leftover. I finally wrote it down a few years ago for my children. We also used an expanded version of this in our restaurant for one of the unique lunch specials. My first experience with this was with leftover fried chicken. The Colonel would have been proud of our use of the leftovers. We needed to buy two buckets back then because we had so many leg and thigh lovers, that was ancient times when you couldn't buy legs and thighs only. I have since used turkey and duck with good results.

Chicken Loaf

Iingredients:

3 cups ground up leftover chicken (use the breading, meat, skin everything but the bones)

3 cups leftover rice (My favorite is the long grain and wild rice we have at Thanksgiving)

1 can condensed cream of chicken soup (do not dilute)

1 medium onion fine diced

1 cup celery fine diced

1 Tablespoon Garlic Powder

1 Tablespoon poultry seasoning

1 teaspoon black pepper

2 eggs slightly whipped

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350. Place all ingredients in bowl and mix. Use your hands to make sure this is completely combined. Place in greased loaf pan. Bake covered about 60 minuets. Serve with whipped potatoes and chicken or turkey gravy.

EZ Chicken Gravy

Ingredients:

1 stick of butter

½ cup all purpose flour

4 cups warm chicken broth

2 Tablespoons chopped parsley

Directions:

In a sauce pan melt butter, add flour and stir till color matches coffee with cream. Add warm stock and stir till boils and thickens. Add parsley just before serving.

Notes:

Grind chicken till looks like ground beef, yes you can use then food processor. If you are using a grinder you may choose to run the celery and onions through that before the meat.

Just like meatloaf this is great on a cold sandwich with a little lettuce and brown mustard. The Queen Goddess wants mayo too, on hers. A big Kosher dill pickle and you have a special picnic or lunch at work.