DILLED CHICKEN FRICASSEE

If you want a one pot meal that is pure comfort food, this is the dish to make!  In fact it is much healthier than most comfort foods because the gravy is made with chicken broth instead of cream or milk.   If I am serving this to “finicky eaters”, I leave out the asparagus but continue cooking until the potatoes are done. However this is the recipe that hooked my children on fresh asparagus because of the gravy flavoring it. Be sure to serve this with hot bread because the gravy is definitely the sopping kind!

1/2 c. flour
1 t. salt
½ t. paprika
6 TB vegetable oil, divided
4 bone-in chicken breast halves (or 6-8 bone-in thighs)or some of each
3 c. chicken broth *
¼ c. chopped fresh dill or dried dill
8 small new potatoes, peeled
Sliced fresh mushrooms, 4-8 oz., optional
12 oz. fresh asparagus, ends trimmed, optional

Mix flour, salt and paprika in a flat dish. Heat 2 TB oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. While oil heats, coat chicken with flour. (I usually skin my chicken, but that is a personal preference.) Add chicken to skillet and brown on both sides. Remove chicken and add enough oil to make about 6 TB in pan.  As you would when making a gravy, stir in 6 TB leftover flour you used to coat the chicken.  Whisk in the chicken broth until smooth and stir in 2 TB dill.  Add mushrooms if desired. Put the chicken and potatoes back in the pan and spoon gravy over everything to flavor it while cooking. Bring to a boil over medium high heat, reduce heat, cover and simmer 15 - 20 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Add asparagus, cover and simmer 5 -10 minutes longer until asparagus is as tender as you like it. Remove from heat. (Asparagus will continue cooking so if you don't serve it immediately you might want to take it off the heat before the asparagus is done or it will get mushy.) Sprinkle with remaining dill and serve.

*If I don’t have canned chicken broth, I use Knorr chicken bouillon. You must give the bouillon time to cool before adding it to the flour or it will lump. (So prepare it before you take anything out of the refrigerator.)

Also chicken with bone is necessary because it takes longer to cook, thus giving the potatoes time to get done without making the chicken too dry.