Ham a la King with Baking Powder Biscuits

I asked Jeff what I should make for dinner as we came home from shopping today. After thinking long and hard, all he could come up with was, "Something with ham." At first I was frustrated because that wasn't a very detailed answer. But then I realized that it gave me plenty of leeway to come up with something fun and creative, while giving me a general direction to take. I ended up altering a recipe for chicken a la king and serving it over Betty Crocker's Baking Powder Biscuits. I seriously thought of renaming them Mile-High Biscuits because they rose so well while they were baking. They're the kind that practically split themselves right in the middle - delicious!

Ham a la King
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine
1/2 small onion, chopped
1/2 cup flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 1/2 cups milk
1 1/2 cups broth (I used water and 1 cube chicken bouillon, 1 cube beef bouillon)
2 cups cubed ham
Parsley for garnish (optional)
Baking Powder Biscuits

In large saucepan melt butter over medium-high heat. Cook onion in butter, stirring occasionally, until onion is crisp-tender.

Stir in flour, salt, and pepper. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until bubbly; remove from heat. Stir in milk and broth. Heat to boiling, stirring constantly. Boil and stir 1 minute. Stir in ham; cook until hot. Serve over biscuits. Garnish with parsley.


Baking Powder Biscuits
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tbsp. sugar
3 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1/2 cup shortening
3/4 cup milk

Heat oven to 450 degrees.

Mix flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in medium bowl. Cut in shortening using pastry blender or criss-crossing 2 knives, until mixture looks like fine crumbs. Stir in milk until dough leaves side of bowl (dough will be soft and sticky).

Place dough on lightly floured surface. Knead lightly 10 times. Roll or pat 1/2 inch thick. Cut with floured 2 to 2 1/4-inch round cutter (I used the lid ring for a wide-mouthed mason jar). Place on ungreased cookie sheet about 1 inch apart for crusty sides, touching for soft sides.

Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until golden brown. Immediately remove from cookie sheet. Serve warm.