Chicken Eugenie

2 boneless, skinless chicken breast
4 slices ham sliced about ¼” thick
2 Tbsp. butter
2 cans cream of chicken soup
2 stalks of celery, chopped
1 tsp. minced, dried onions
1 cup evaporated milk

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  “Butterfly” chicken breasts.  Cut the rest of the way through creating 2 pieces from each.  In a large frying pan melt butter over med. high heat.  Salt and pepper chicken to taste.  Brown chicken on both sides.  Cover frying pan with lid and let cook until chicken is done, about 20 minutes depending upon the thickness.  Spray a 9 x 12 x 2 baking dish with non-stick spray.  Place the 4 pieces of ham in the dish.  Top each piece of ham with chicken.  In a large bowl mix soup, celery, onions and evaporated milk until well blended.  Pour over chicken.  Bake 20-25 minutes or until bubbly in the center.  Serves 4.

Martha:  I found a version of this recipe in a 1960’s cookbook.  It had no front cover but the back cover said Pilot International Building Macon, Georgia and copyright MCMLXVI (1966).  The recipes themselves are even older.  This dish called for “top milk” which if I remember correctly is the actual cream that forms on fresh milk after the cow has been milked.  I, of course had no “top milk” so I used evaporated milk.  Guess you could also use half and half or heavy cream.  I also changed the cooking just a bit.  The original called for whole chicken breasts which I changed to boneless, skinless and sliced it into 2 pieces.  It had the chicken just browned and not cooked completely in the frying pan.  It’s cooking was done in the oven.  I like my chicken to be cooked before adding the other ingredients so I cooked mine thoroughly in the pan.  As for the ham, I used a large slice and cut it into 4 even pieces.  Go easy on the salt you might add to the chicken.  The ham gives out a good bit so salt lightly.  As for this dish, it was delicious.  I served it over brown and wild rice with a salad and roll making this a complete and delicious dish.  The name of the dish is exactly the way it was listed in the book.