Lazy Day Gourmet

"Honey I Fed the Kids" Chicken VIDEO

Ingredients (Per Freezer Bag)

2 chicken breasts
1/2 cups apple juice
1 teaspoons garlic
2 TBS cup honey
Salt & Pepper to taste

Prop open a one gallon freezer bag. Add apple juice, garlic, pepper, honey, and salt. Mix the marinade together in the bag by rubbing squeezing the outside of the bag. Once the marinade is well blended, the chicken breasts. Let out excess air, and seal the freezer bag. Label the bag, and lay flat in the freezer. Freeze.

Cooking Instructions:
Thaw.
Remove chicken from marinade. Discard leftover marinade.
Grill chicken breasts over medium heat until completely cooked, flipping once. Will need to cook about 7 minutes per side.

2 chicken breasts
1/2 cups apple juice
1 teaspoons garlic
2 TBS cup honey
Salt & Pepper to taste

Prop open a one gallon freezer bag. Add apple juice, garlic, pepper, honey, and salt. Mix the marinade together in the bag by rubbing squeezing the outside of the bag. Once the marinade is well blended, the chicken breasts. Let out excess air, and seal the freezer bag. Label the bag, and lay flat in the freezer. Freeze.

Cooking Instructions:
Thaw.
Remove chicken from marinade. Discard leftover marinade.
Grill chicken breasts over medium heat until completely cooked, flipping once. Will need to cook about 7 minutes per side.

Once a Week Cooking Session

Whew, that was fun! I just finished up a Once a Week cooking session, Lazy Day Gourmet style! What's on the menu for this week?  Well, let's see. In about an hour, I was able to get the following recipes into the freezer for the week.

And, I found the perfect use for my XO Laptop from One Laptop Per Child. My XO is now my official Lazy Day Gourmet cooking assistant!

1. Easy Orange Chicken- This is what's for dinner tonight! Serving it up with jasmine rice, and my new favorite (okay, I'm obsessed) Amazing Spinach & Pear salad.
2. Pineapple Pork Chops- This recipe is such a welcome change on a cold winter's night. Try it this week, and transplant yourself to the beaches of Waikiki. I cheated and used canned pineapple chunks this week since there wasn't a pineapple in sight at the local grocery store.
3. Rosemary Roast - I couldn't find a tri-tip at the grocery store this trip, so instead I bought an oven roast, and will be cooking this in the oven instead of on the grill this week.
4. Chunky Beef Crockpot Chili- Now with pictures! This is one of the most popular recipes on the Lazy Day Gourmet site. And for good reason. It's SO easy, and SO tasty.
5. Roasted Chicken- No freezer prep needed here. Just stick the whole chicken in the freezer, and place in the fridge to thaw the night before you want to cook.
6. Little Village Chicken Wraps- This is a new recipe I'm introducing this week. It's one of my all-time favorite recipes, so check back this week for pictures and a step by step how-to.
7. Cheesy Chicken Tetrazzini- Another new recipe coming up this week. This recipe will wreck your diet, but is worth every single mouthful.  The Cheesy Chicken Tetrazzini recipe is another Make One - Freeze One that I think you will really enjoy. Recipe and photos coming up later this week, so stay tuned! Note:

Rosemary's Chicken & Pasta

Today, I'm featuring a recipe that falls into a unique Lazy Day Gourmet cooking category. I call this recipe a Make One - Freeze One. Make one to eat tonight, and while you're making that one, make another one to stick in the freezer for later.  Much like our favorite Moo Noodle Pie or "Moodle Pie" recipe, this dish is completely cooked before you wrap it up to put it in the freezer.

If you want to Make One - Freeze One, you'll need to double this recipe.

Rosemary's Chicken & Pasta
3 boneless, skinless chicken breast(s)
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons canola oil
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon coarse salt
3 large button mushrooms, chopped
2 1/2 cups whole milk (can sub half and half)
1/2 yellow onion(s), diced
2 tablespoons fresh rosemary, chopped
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
12  ounces penne pasta
Salt & Pepper to taste

Freezer Prep:
Place the chicken breasts on a small, rimmed baking sheet or pie pan and drizzle with olive oil. Bake uncovered for 20 minutes or until cooked through. Let cool and cut into small cubes.

Meanwhile, cook the pasta for 6-7 minutes, until not quite al dente.

Heat the butter and oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the flour, making a roux. Add the mushrooms and cook for a minute, just to soften, add the milk and stir to thicken. Let cool.

Cut the chicken in to small pieces and place in a large mixing bowl. Add the onion, rosemary, cheese and add salt and pepper, to taste.

Gently fold in the pasta. Place the mixture into a baking dish and cover with foil.Using packing tape, place the label on the top and place it in the freezer.

Warm Up Instructions:
Thaw
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Bake, covered for 1 hour. Serve immediately.

Parmesan Stuffed Chicken Breasts

This chicken recipe is one that I keep in the freezer all the time. It's a great meal for Once a Week or Once a Month cooking, and is fancy enough to make ahead for a dinner party or special occassion.

My only suggestion for making this recipe extra delicious is to use a little more salt than you might normally use in the dry ingredients mix. 

I also like to add a little thyme to my version. If you are not a big fan of thyme, feel free to omit it from the recipe.  It's still delicious!

Parmesan Stuffed Chicken Breasts
4 chicken breasts, bone in & skin on
1/4 cup unseasoned bread crumbs
1/2 cup oregano
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
1 teaspoon garlic, minced
Salt and Pepper to taste (Use more than you think you'll need on this one!)
Optional: Add 2 TBS of dried thyme for a little more flavor

Freezer Instructions:
In a small bowl, mix the breadcrumbs, oregano, Parmigiano and garlic. Season the mixture with salt and pepper.

Carefully loosen the chicken skin with fingers. Divide the oregano mixture into equal mounds and tuck the oregano mixture under the skin, pushing down to spread out. Season the chicken breasts with salt and pepper. Wrap each breast individually with plastic wrap and then place all of the breasts in a large ziptop freezer bag.

Using packing tape, affix the cooking label and place in the freezer.

Cooking Instructions:
Thaw.
1. Unwrap the chicken and place the breasts in a roasting pan covered with cooking spray.
2. Bake until the skin is crispy and the chicken is cooked through, about 30 minutes. An instant-read thermometer inserted should register 165 degrees.

Let's Roast a Chicken!

If you're an incredibly busy cook like myself, you have probably (more than once!) bought a pre-cooked roasted or rotisserie chicken at the grocery store.  They come in all flavors like Mojo, BBQ, Lemon Pepper, and really couldn't be any more convenient.  And oh man, if you've even gotten one from Costco, YOWZA, so juicy!

Cooking the whole bird may seem like some sort of mystical task that should only be tackled by your grandmother and on special occassions, but roasting a chicken is actually super easy, and makes the house smell divine while dinner is cooking.  Give it a try this week!

Yummy Roasted Chicken
1 whole chicken (4-5 pounds)
1 TBS mayonaisse
Salt
Pepper
Paprika
Onion Powder

1. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.

2. Remove the giblets from the chicken.  If this if your first time roasting a chicken, the giblets are usuallly packed in a little bag inside the chicken body. Just reach in, and remove the giblet package. You can dispose of them. We won't be needing those!

3. Pat your chicken nice and  dry with paper towels.

4. Now comes the fun part! Take your 1 TBS of mayonaisse and rub it all over the chicken, just like you're applying it's oven ready suntan lotion.  Don't miss an inch. Just keep rubbing.

5. Once the chicken is well lotioned, sprinkle it will equal parts of salt, pepper, paprika, and onion powder. Make sure you flip the chicken and season it on all sides. 

6. Place the seasoned chicken on a rack in a shallow roasting pan, and place it in the center of your pre-heated oven.

7. Roast for 1 and 1/2 hours.  Juices should run clear when you penetrate with a fork between the thight and the body.  Once the juices run clear, remove the chicken from the oven, and let sit for 10 to 15 minutes before serving. 

And THAT IS IT!  That's all there is to it.  This is the perfect meal to make while you are preparing your Lazy Day Gourmet meals for the week. By the time you finish preparing and packing 5-7 dinners in the freezer, you've got a succulent roasted chicken ready to serve for dinner.   Now that's smart cooking.

Easy Orange Chicken

Ingredients
4 boneless chicken breasts
2 TBS brown sugar
2 TBS soy sauce
3 TBS orange juice conentrate (thawed)
2 teaspoons garlic
1 teaspoon ginger
Coarse salt & Pepper to taste

Freezer Instructions:
Prop open a one gallon freezer bag.  Add the brown sugar, soy sauce, orange juice, garlic, ginger, salt and pepper to the freezer bag, and mix using your hand on the outside of the bag until all ingredients are well blended.  Add the chicken breasts to the bag, and turn inside the bag to coat with marinade.  Squeeze excess air out of the bag, seal, and label the bag with a Sharpie.  Lie bag flat in freezer. Freeze.

Cooking Instructions:
Thaw.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Coat a baking dish with light cooking spray. Remove chicken from freezer bag, and DO NOT discard the bag  & remaining marinade. Place chicken in baking dish, and place in the oven for roasting for 25 minutes. Baste occassionally with the remaining marinade. Once the chicken is cooked through, turn the oven to broil and broil the chicken for a minute or so, until it is nice and brown on top.

Serving Suggestions: Jasmine Rice and Garden Salad with ginger dressing.

Twisted Chicken

Ingredients
4 Boneless chicken breasts, cut into strips
2 cups of coarsely crushed up pretzels (See, I told you it was Twisted!)
1/3 canola oil
1/2 cup Dijon mustard
1/4 cup water
3 TBS red wine vinegar
Coarse Salt and Pepper

Cooking Instructions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees

Take the pretzels, and pour them into a freezer bag. Using a rubber mallet, rolling pin, or can of soup, crush the pretzels into bits until you have a nice coarse consistency of crushed pretzel. You will have both coarse and fine pretzel crumbs when you are done, which is perfect.

Pour the pretzels from the bag onto a large plate, and set aside.

In a small mixing bowl, combine the Dijon mustard, the oil, water, and vinegar.  Mix with a fork or whisk until smooth. Add salt and pepper to taste.

On a large plate, pour HALF of the mustard mixture over the chicken strips to coat completely. After coated, dredge the chicken through the pretzel crumbs, and then put them into a greased baking pan or a baking sheet with a rim.

Once all of the strips are coated and crumbed, bake for 25 minutes or until cooked through.

Serve with the remaining mustard dressing as a dipping sauce!

Serving Suggestions:
Buttered lima beans and Mixed Green Salad.

Stuffed Basil Chicken

4 Boneless skinless chicken breasts
4 slices proscuitto
Dijon mustard
Balsamic vinegar
8 large basil leaves
1/2 cup mozarella cheese

"I was 32 when I started cooking; up until then, I just ate."
Julia Child

Freezer Prep:
On your cutting board, lay out your 4 proscuitto slices. Spread dijon mustard evenly on all 4 slices.  Then take 2 basil leaves, and lay them on tof of each slice of proscuitto. Sprinkle mozarella cheese on each slice of proscuitto, and then roll the proscuitto up into neat small rolls. Set the rolls aside.

Prepare your chicken for stuffing by cutting small 2 inch pockets into the thickest part of each breast.  Fit a proscuitto roll neatly into each pocket.  Sprinkle a little balsamic vinegar on top of each stuffed chicken breast and brush it evenly on the outside of the breast until lightly coated.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Place the stuffed chicken breasts into a one gallon freezer bag, label as Stuffed Basil Chicken, and place in the freezer.

Cooking Instructions:
Thaw. Grill the stuffed chicken for approximately 7-8 minutes per side, or until thoroughly cooked.

Serving Suggestions:
Mashed potatoes & garden salad.

Note: This recipe can also be cooked in a grill pan over medium heat.  

"Honey, I Fed the Kids" Drumsticks

6 pack skinless chicken drumsticks
2 cups apple juice
2 teaspoons garlic
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 cup honey
Salt to taste

Prop open a one gallon freezer bag. Add apple juice, garlic, pepper, honey, and salt. Mix the marinade together in the bag by rubbing squeezing the outside of the bag. Once the marinade is well blended, add the drumsticks. Let out excess air, and seal the freezer bag. Label the bag, and lay flat in the freezer. Freeze.

Cooking Instructions:
Thaw.
Remove drumsticks from marinade. Discard leftover marinade.
Grill drumsticks over medium heat until completely cooked, flipping once. Will need to cook about 20 minutes per side.