California Casserole – Recipe #8 of 52 Pillsbury Grand Prize Recipes in 52 Weeks

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California Casserole won the 8th Pillsbury Bake-Off. Recipe on Pillsbury.com by Hildreth H. Hatheway of Santa Barbara, California.

This was the first savory dish of the 52 and I have to be honest, I wasn’t very excited to make this. But once I tasted it, I was glad I did.

This is basically a chicken and dumplings dish, except it’s made with veal. Except I couldn’t find veal, so I used chicken. First you dip the veal (or chicken in this case) pieces in a mixture of flour and paprika.

Then saute them in 1/4 cup of oil. Add salt, pepper and 1 cup of water. Bring to boil and simmer 30 minutes.

Next you make the dumplings. Then you dip them in a mixture of bread crumbs and butter.

You also make a sauce with cream of chicken soup and water. Heat and mix until it’s melted and combined. Place the veal (chicken) pieces in a casserole dish. Pour the sauce over it. Then dump the drained onions in. Place the dumplings on top and bake.

Then you make another sauce. Mix cream of chicken soup with sour cream and milk. Heat and stir until combined. Then you pour on individual servings of the casserole.

And there you have it! Your baked casserole. Ready for some sauce. The dumplings are crispy on top and soft in the middle. The chicken is moist and the 2 sauces add a lot of flavor. It was definitely yummy but it was a lot of work! Did I say that for the last recipe too? I guess you can tell I don’t like to do a lot of work when I’m cooking. But keep in mind that this recipe was from 1956. I think they had more time on their hands then. Just guessing.

Stay tuned for next week’s recipe – Accordion Treats (I think they are less time consuming).

Print Recipe

California Casserole

Ingredients

• Recipe courtesy of Pillsbury®
• Casserole
• 1/3 cup Pillsbury BEST® All Purpose or Unbleached Flour
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 2 lb. boneless veal cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1/4 cup oil
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon pepper
• 1 cup water
• 1 10 3/4-oz. can condensed cream of chicken soup
• 1 1/2 cups water
• 1 16-oz. jar (1 1/2 cups) small onions, drained
• Dumplings
• 2 cups Pillsbury BEST® All Purpose or Unbleached Flour
• 4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 tablespoon poppy seed if desired
• 1 teaspoon instant minced onion
• 1 teaspoon celery seed
• 1 teaspoon poultry seasoning
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup oil
• 3/4 to 1 cup milk
• 2 tablespoons margarine or butter melted
• 1/2 cup Progresso® Plain Bread Crumbs
• 1 10 3/4-oz. can condensed cream of chicken soup
• 1 8-oz. container sour cream
• 1/4 cup milk

Instructions

• In small bowl or plastic bag, combine 1/3 cup flour and paprika; mix well. Add veal; coat well with flour mixture.
• Heat 1/4 cup oil in 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat until hot. Add veal; cook until browned. Add 1/2 teaspoon salt, pepper and 1 cup water. Bring to boil. Reduce heat; simmer uncovered 30 minutes or until veal is tender, stirring occasionally. Transfer veal mixture to ungreased 13x9-inch (3-quart) glass baking dish or 3-quart casserole.
• In same skillet, combine 1 can cream of chicken soup and 1 1/2 cups water; blend well. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Pour over veal mixture in baking dish. Add onions; mix well.
• Heat oven to 425°F In large bowl, combine 2 cups flour, baking powder, poppy seed, minced onion, celery seed, poultry seasoning and 1/4 teaspoon salt; mix well. Add 1/4 cup oil and enough milk so that, when stirred, dry ingredients are just moistened.
• In small bowl, combine margarine and bread crumbs; mix well. Drop rounded tablespoons of dough into crumb mixture; roll to coat well. Arrange dumplings over warm veal mixture. Bake at 425°F. for 20 to 25 minutes or until dumplings are deep golden brown.
• Meanwhile, in medium saucepan, combine all sauce ingredients; blend well. Bring just to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer 2 to 3 minutes or until thoroughly heated, stirring frequently. Serve sauce with casserole and dumplings.