Short Cuts In The Kitchen: Chicken

As promised in this post, here are some kitchen short cuts to start feeding your freezer.

One of the easier and cheapest foods to feed your freezer with is the ever versatile chicken.I start by getting two chickens at a time going in my roaster using the Sticky chicken recipe listed below. While they are cooking I am free to do several meals worth of chicken nuggets. The only modification I make to this recipe is that I always add ground oatmeal, once I have the nuggets done I use the left over coating to make Parmesan chicken with chicken breasts, all I have to do is add the Parmesan cheese and a little more Italian herbs. I almost always have a bag of shredded Parmesan cheese in our freezer since I buy it in bulk at Sam's. It adds such a nice flavor to so many things and it sure does beat the powdered kind!


To freeze the nuggets or Parmesan chicken spread them out on a large baking pan and flash freeze them for several hours, then bag them up in portions appropriate for your family. ***Flash freezing is important if you do not want them to lump into one big frozen hunk of coated chicken***. Be sure to label your freezer bags with the date and contents. I learned this the hard way. It is amazing how many things look alike when frozen.



Roasted Sticky Chicken Preparation (the night before)

* 1 large roasting chicken
* 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
* 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
* 1 teaspoon white pepper
* 1 teaspoon thyme
* 1 teaspoon onion powder
* 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
* 2 teaspoons paprika
* 4 teaspoons salt

In a small bowl, thoroughly combine all the spices. Remove giblets from chicken, clean the cavity well and pat dry with paper towels. Rub the spice mixture into the chicken, both inside and out, making sure it is evenly distributed and down deep into the skin. Place in a re-sealable plastic bag, seal and refrigerate overnight.

Roast Sticky Chicken (the next day)

* Chicken prepared last night
* 1 cup onion, chopped

When ready to roast chicken, stuff cavity with onions, and place in crockpot or roaster. Cook on low for 5 hours in crockpot or 250 F in the oven. The pan juices will start to caramelize on the bottom of pan and the chicken will turn golden brown. Use a meat thermometer to ensure that the meat is thoroughly cooked (180° is well done for a whole chicken). Let chicken rest about 10 minutes before carving.


Here is another recipe I use for Parmesan chicken when not making nuggets:

Baked Chicken Parmesan

* 6 boneless chicken breasts
* 1 cup bread crumbs
* 1/3 cup Parmesan Cheese
* 1/4 tsp. oregano
* 1/4 tsp. pepper
* Salt to taste
* 1 clove garlic or 1 Tbsp. garlic powder
* 3/4 cup melted butter

Combine bread crumbs, cheese, oregano, pepper, and salt; set aside. Lightly saute garlic in 2 T. butter then stir in remaining butter. Dip chicken in garlic butter then roll each piece in bread crumb mixture. Place chicken in 9x13 pan and sprinkle with remaining bread crumb mixture. Pour on remaining butter. Bake at 350° for 55 minutes.


All of these recipes freeze and reheat wonderfully! The nuggets are especially great when you are in a hurry and just do not have time to put together a meal from scratch. Simply heat up the nuggets, toss a salad together and maybe heat up some leftover vegetables, wallah, lunch/dinner is ready!You can also find many more recipes by doing a search online for freezer meals. Two sites I like are Menus for mom and Recipezaar. Also most libraries are full of books on the subject.

Next week I will share some beef recipes.