We have a friend we lovingly refer to as “the human jukebox.”
He has a ton of songs floating around in his head, and all it takes to get him to launch into one is to subtly mention a lyric.
Joey and I sometimes make a game of seeing if we can make a comment that will result in him humming, whistling or singing the song later on, after it’s invaded his subconscious. He always rolls his eyes and feigns annoyance when we bust up laughing at the outset of his tune.
My secret, though, is I tend to be a bit of a human jukebox myself, especially when I’m cooking with a particular set of herbs as I was this week: parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme.
Simon and Garfunkel get me every time.
Getting “Scarborough Fair” stuck in my head this week was completely my own fault, though, as I decided to add a ton of seasonings to a chicken crescent roll casserole recipe I found in order to transform it into a chicken pot pie-inspired dish.
The recipe I started with comes from the blog “The Seasoned Mom” by Blair Lonergan. You can find the original post at https://www.theseasonedmom.com/crescent-roll-chicken-casserole. I added quite a few ingredients in my version.
Crescent Roll Chicken Pot Pie Casserole
Ingredients
Filling Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 3 celery stalks diced
- 3 medium carrots diced
- 1/4 yellow onion diced
- 6-8 cloves garlic minced
- 1/4 cup frozen peas
- 1 cup chicken shredded
- 1/4 cup shredded cheese
- 1/2 teaspoon rosemary
- 1/2 teaspoon thyme
- 1/2 teaspoon parsley
- 1/2 teaspoon sage
- garlic salt and pepper to taste
- 8 ounces refrigerated crescent roll dough
Sauce Ingredients
- 10.5 ounces cream of chicken soup
- 3/4 cup milk
- 3/4 cup shredded cheese
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- garlic salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Spray an eight-by-eight-inch baking dish with cooking spray and set it aside.
- In a skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the celery, carrots and onion, and saute until the vegetables are soft.
- Add in the garlic and peas, and saute for another couple of minutes or until the garlic is fragrant.
- Remove the skillet from the heat and add in the chicken, cheese, rosemary, thyme, parsley, sage, garlic salt and pepper, and stir to combine.
- Roll out and separate the triangles of crescent roll dough, and place a spoonful of the chicken mixture into the center of each, loosely rolling the dough around it, and place the filled dough into the prepared baking dish. It’s OK if they are touching. (If you have extra filling after you’re done with the dough, just sprinkle it around in the pan.
- Bake for 13 to 15 minutes or until the crescent rolls are golden brown.
- While they bake, add all of the sauce ingredients to a saucepan over medium-low heat. Whisk or stir until the cheese melts.
- When the rolls are baked through, pour the sauce on the top, and place the casserole back in the oven for five to 10 minutes or until the sauce is bubbly.
- Serve immediately.
This is really saucy. You could easily get away with doubling the filling, getting an extra can of crescent rolls and using a nine-by-13-inch dish instead—while using the same amount of sauce.
I didn’t mind the extra creamy sauce along with the vegetables and buttery dough, though, so it’s all about what you like.
Of course, the addition of parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme complimented the chicken and veggies nicely, too. That combo is a true love of mine.
This piece first appeared in print on May 18, 2023.
Spice Up Your Life is a weekly newspaper column written by Lindsey Young in south central Kansas. If you are interested in sponsoring this column, please contact us through the “Contact Lindsey” link at the top of the page.
