Jul 18, 2013

Dinner from the Freezer

Yesterday was one of those days when I ran around all afternoon, Targeting and hitting up Trader Joe's with a toddler demanding every sort of food we passed (on the upside?  I forgot how wonderfully salty Target popcorn is).  It was also about three thousand degrees outside.

So we return, a tad disgruntled, newly poor and sweaty.  I get Miss Priss settled, then unload my bags of groceries and various other necessities, only to realize, "Hot damn, I have nothing to eat for supper."

Don't you hate that?  You've just spent a kajillion dollars at the grocery store, but the only readily available foodstuff is squeeze applesauce, string cheese or mandarin oranges (unsurprisingly, this comprised the first half of my cranky toddler's dinner).

However, feeling very Suzy Homemaker indeed, I raided my freezer. Ha!  A pan of "Anytime Chicken and Dressing" modified from Southern Living's "Fix It & Freeze It & Heat It & Eat It" (a rather unwieldy name, for a cookbook which is nothing but wieldy).  I set it in the oven for an hour, chopped an onion and sauteed it with a little country ham, added frozen green beans and chicken broth, and dinner was ready shortly after Miss Priss got out of the bath. Frozen green beans made me hang my head in shame, as pole beans and stringers are overflowing locally, but sometimes you just can't muster the energy to string a bean.  Or hell, go to the grocery store one more time.



This dinner is not fancy.  It is simple and good.  Dell Harper sat with me, and enjoyed her second dinner immensely.  Morgan loves when I pull a pan of this casserole out of the freezer.

Anytime Chicken and Dressing
Makes Six (large) Servings

1/4 cup butter
10 green onions (roughly a bunch of green onions), chopped
5 celery ribs, chopped
10 cornbread muffins, crumbled (I made mine from a mix, just make sure the mix does not have sugar*)      
                     (about 3.5 cups)
1/2 (16 oz) package herb-seasoned stuffing mix
5 cups chicken broth
1.5 cups cooked chicken (I used an entire rotisserie chicken)
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 tsp. poultry seasoning

1.  Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat, add the onions and celery and sauté about 5 minutes until tender.
2.  Combine the cornbread and the remaining ingredients in a large bowl; add the sauteed vegetables, stirring well.  Spoon the dressing into 2 lightly greased 8x8 baking dishes.  Each will be about 4 generous servings.

To freeze:  cover tightly with heavy duty aluminum foil, and cook at 350 degrees for an hour and fifteen minutes.

To eat right then- bake uncovered at 350 for 55 minutes or until lightly browned.

*Sweet cornbread is an abomination and all who eat it should feel hot shame.  Much like I feel, eating frozen green beans in July.


Comfort food at its finest.


4 comments:

  1. There is no shame in frozen veggies, in season or not, because at least there were vegetables on your plate, right? Such a relief to remember a freezer meal waiting in the freezer. I need to restock for days like that. Looks so good Mmmmm.

    ReplyDelete
  2. samma, that dish looks AMAZING!!!! something that has comfort AKA get in my belly written all over it...adding this to my recipes to try out SOON

    ReplyDelete
  3. I just came across your blog over the weekend, and this looked so delicious. It's already in the oven for tonight! Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  4. I am making this again this weekend to add to the freezer......xx

    ReplyDelete

I love to hear from y'all, so drop me a line!