Recipes for Frozen Chicken Tenders

Go over to the other aisle at Trader Joe's, buy a jar of simmersauce. Throw the frozen tenders and the sauce in a covered skillet, corningware or crockpot and cook. dont dilute the sauce, the frozen chicken will do it. and then serve over the frozen rice you bought in the box.

If you cook right from the freezer... without thawing first... it will make the dish watery. That is what I have found. So now I always thaw the chicken first, in a Ziploc bag. After it is thawed, you will find a lot of liquid/raw chicken juices in the bag, from the ice coating in the frozen chicken. So you throw that out, before cooking.

Just thaw from the night before, in the fridge. So the next day, you can cook it and the chicken will be thawed already.

good luck,
Susan

I didn't read the responses so you might have already received this one but I like to do 1/2 bottle of Catalina dressing (I buy fat free), 1 cup apricot pinapple preserves and a packet of onion soup mix. Mix that up and pour it over, cook for about 30-45 min depending on how many tenders you have. It is delicious and I serve it over rice or cous cous.

Preheat oven to 350 Frozen tenders into a pan olive oil and the everyday seasoning from Trader Joes over the top. Cook for 17 - 20 minutes. Serve w Rice and veggies - so good. I was surprised how good they are just cooked simply.

I use frozen tenders right out of the freezer for most of my chicken dishes, but they're usually cut into bite sized pieces and browned in a pan which thaws and cooks at the same time. The water from the ice evaporates before I do anything else with the chicken, so it doesn't make my dishes watery.

Here's two of our favorite recipes that I do this with:

Chicken Poop (don't ask about the name....I have boys):

Start rice in rice cooker (if you have one, if you don't follow directions to cook on stove)
cut chicken into bite sized pieces and brown on stove (I have medical bone cutting scissors that I use to cut frozen chicken and they work fantastic!)
While those are browning on stove mix the following together in a bowl

1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 cup mayo
3-4tbsp lemon juice
garlic salt (several shakes, don't be stingy)
curry powder (at least 1-2 tbsp)

Once chicken is browned well, lower heat and add sauce to pan. Simmer sauce and chicken in pan until the sauce changes color (it'll start out a brownish white and should end up darker from the curry dissolving into it).

Once the rice and Chicken Poop are done, serve the CP over a bed of rice. I also usually throw a Bird's Eye steamer bag into the microwave for the veggie side. We like brussels sprouts or broccoli with this dish. If I don't have those, then I just crack open a can of green beans to serve on the side or a bag of salad mix. This is my go-to, delicious but quick and easy, last minute recipe.

Chicken Curry Casserole: (yes, we really like curry)

about 2lb. chicken tenders
3-4 broccoli crowns
1 1/2c mayo
2 cans cream of chicken soup
2-3tbsp lemon juice
2tbsp curry powder
3c grated cheddar cheese

boil broccoli crowns slightly (2-3 minutes) and place in bottom of large casserole dish. (I usually wait until they are in the dish to cut them up, they're softer and easier to deal with without making a mess)

Cut up tenders into bite sized pieces and brown on stove. When brown, sprinkle them in a layer over the broccoli

combine mayo, cream of chicken soup, lemon juice and curry powder together in bowl and spread over the chicken and broccoli

Cover with a layer of grated cheese and bake in oven at 350 degrees for 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

While that's baking, make rice in rice cooker or on stove.

When done, serve over a bed of the rice.

This is my all time favorite meal. It's super delicious!!!

Hope you get some other great recipes!

Throw in crock pot, with a jar of your favorite sauce (I like Bertoli)...cook on low all day, serve with some angel hair pasta and a veggie - voila, dinner is served.

My niece was just cooking some up for a family reunion. She used a cast iron skillet, heated Olive Oil in it. Then she dropped in the frozen chicken breast tenders in a single thickness. She sprinkled a little herbs Provence on each one and then turned them. She covered them with a lid and essentially "steamed" them in the olive oil.....they tasted great.

I throw frozen chicken in the crockpot on low, cook until shredable, add a small can of enchilada sauce and a cup of shredded cheddar cheese. Roll it into small flour tortillas's (soft taco size makes 10), place in a glass 13x9 pan, drizzle one small can of enchilada sauce on top and cover with more chedder cheese. Bake at 375 for 15 min, and if you want to 'bubble' the cheese, broil it for 2 or 3 min more. Add a bagged salad and voila!

Spray a pan with olive oil, throw in some chicken tenders (frozen is fine), chop half an onion & throw it on top, slice some sun dried tomatoes (the kind in olive oil is best) & throw them on top, add a little salt, a little pepper, a little basil and oregano, maybe a tablespoon of capers. Throw a lid on it and let it cook until the tenders are... um... tender, flipping/checking them about every ten minutes. Serve them next to a green salad.

This recipe for Wee Nuggets is SO easy and freezes beautifully. I keep a huge bag in the freezer and pop a few out whenever I need them! http://weelicious.com/2008/05/14/wee-nuggets/

My family's favorite way to have those is cooked on the stovetop (in a frying pan, but with no oil) sprinkled with lemon pepper. You don't have to thaw them, they cook fast, and they're YUMMY! :)

My kids love to make homemade snack wraps... I use chicken breasts or you can use the breaded chicken patties as well... I bake the chicken on a tray, then slice into strips, then put into warmed flour tortillas with some lettuce, cheese and whatever else you may want in there... then add if you Ranch dressing, or BBQ sauce, Honey mustard or whatever sauce you want.... Better than McDonalds! :) My kids love it

You can purchase the ready made sweet and sour sauce and make sweet and sour chicken with the nuggets and cook white rice

I use them in stir fries, soups and stews because they are already smaller and require less chopping. Or sauteed with a little evoo, garlic, herbs and whatever veggie I have and serve over pasta or rice.

They are an instant cook when thawed out. Much quicker and more even cooking than starting frozen (unless going in the crockpot) But they thaw quickly. I put a pound in quart sized ziploc bags. Take one out of freezer and put in fridge in the morning. It's thawed by the time you get home. The easiest quickest way is on a Foreman grill. Season and put on the grill, close the lid and voila. The cooked chicken can be cut up on salad or used in tacos, fajitas, wraps, or whatever. Raw chicken cut up for stir fry. I also like to make fried chicken tenders. Just season, bread and fry. I make homemade honey mustard and bbq - real fattening comfort food - but people love it. Just be sure to cut that sinew out if you arent frying. Grab the white piece that is sticking out and put your blade against it, then pull to get that nasty sucker out.

You already have so many good ideas! I use the chicken tenders and breasts lots of times. Hopefully you'll find a couple of mine to add to your recipe box...

(1) Spray a pan with non-stick spray, sprinkle lemon pepper (as was already suggested) on each piece, place in pan, place a small pat of butter on each piece and then squeeze lemon juice over them and scrape the lemon pulp out of the lemon onto the chicken. Pour a small amount of water into the pan to help with moistness. Cover with foil and bake til done. They are delicious and believe it or not, not that lemony!! Very nice with seasoned steamed rice and fresh veggies.

(2) Lawry's has a lot of very good marinades. You don't have to marinade to benefit from them. Simply do the same as above, but dip all the chicken into the marinade, pour a little marinade into the pan and then cover and bake.

(3) My husband likes to fry it in a little olive oil and garlic and then finish it off with Frank's Red Hot Sauce (or any other). It's really good with ranch or bleu cheese dressing-- caution, though, if serving to kids. :)

Hopefully you can find some use from my suggestions... You can do soooo much with chicken tenders with very little work and time.

L.

Here are some links that I received in my email. You could also do boneless buffalo chicken!

http://www.parentsconnect.com/dishes/chicken-slaw-sandwic...

http://www.parentsconnect.com/dishes/pineapple-chicken-sa...

http://www.parentsconnect.com/dishes/honey-mustard-chicke...

http://www.parentsconnect.com/dishes/easy-sweet-sour-chic...

http://www.parentsconnect.com/dishes/chicken-parmesan-pas...

http://www.parentsconnect.com/dishes/chicken-nugget-skewe...

I like to throw my frozen chicken in the crockpot with some taco seasoning. Easy taco's or burrito's.
Check out
http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/
It has lots of ideas.