Comfort Food - Easy Chicken and Gravy

If you're anything like me, when the weather is cold and dreary or when disappointment knocks on your door, you seek comfort. 

Sometimes that comfort comes in the form of a good book and warm slippers by a cozy fireplace. Perhaps the beauty of music soothes your soul. For others, writing or painting are a welcome escape from woes and worries.

And sometimes, we need something rich and satisfying to comfort us inside as well as out. That's when a recipe like this one comes to the rescue.

The card on which this recipe is written is worn and stained (it's been called upon a lot). I'm not even sure where the original recipe comes from—perhaps the back label of a can of evaporated milk. I will be the first to caution that this is not diet food—sodium and fat levels are probably way off-scale, but there are some days that I simply DON'T CARE! 

This is one of those days, and I'm going to make my baked chicken, which makes its own amazing gravy right in the baking pan.

Baked Chicken and Gravy

Ingredients

• 3 to 3 1/2 pounds chicken thighs, bone-in
• 1/4 cup flour
• 1/4 cup melted butter
• 1/4 cup sliced mushrooms
• 1 large yellow onion, diced
• 2/3 cup evaporated milk
• 1 can (10.5 ounces) cream of mushroom soup
• 1 cup grated American cheese (not imitation)
• 1/8 teaspoon black pepper

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
2. Coat the chicken with flour, shaking off excess. 
3. Drizzle melted butter into a 13x9-inch baking pan; arrange the chicken in the pan in a single layer.
4. Bake, uncovered, for 30 minutes.
5. Turn chicken pieces over, and bake 15 to 20 minutes more or until tender and browned. Remove from the oven.
6. Reduce heat to 325 degrees F. 
7. Pour off excess fat from the pan.
8. Stir together mushrooms, onions, milk, soup, and cheese. Pour over the chicken. 
9. Cover with foil; bake for 15 to 20 minutes. Serve over mashed potatoes, rice, or noodles.