Choose chicken and you simply can’t go wrong. After all, it should come as no surprise that it’s almost always affordable, comparatively speaking and especially when it’s on sale, everybody loves it and there’s no end to the ways you can fix it.
Speaking of which, today’s how-to is a perfect example. In this case, the chicken is zapped with all sorts of great flavorings like onion, garlic, bell pepper, celery, thyme, black and cayenne peppers. It’s easy to prepare, won’t bash your food budget to bits, should taste like a million bucks — and, wait for this bonus — it makes enough to feed a family of four twice!
Everett cook Vonny McCarver let us in on the how-to and tells us, “While cleaning out the pantry after the holidays, this (a Forum column dating back to Sept. 27, 1984) fell out of an old cookbook. I was surprised it wasn’t in my rather thick Forum file.
“I remember using this recipe quite often back in the day, freezing it and then taking it camping. It really works, and I’m sure there are a lot of cooks that will want to add this to their recipe collections.
“I got a kick out of it, and I hope you do, too.”
Yes, and what’s more, not only will this tasty filler-upper come in handy for camping, it’s the perfect thing to fix if you’re having company, or to package and have available for some night when you need to grab something that will go straight from the freezer to the oven while you go about setting the table, tossing a salad, pouring the milk.
Cajun chicken ‘n’ rice Creole
8 chicken legs
8 chicken thighs
Paprika
Garlic powder
11/2 cups finely chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup oil
11/3 cups uncooked rice
2 cans (15-16 ounces each) tomatoes, undrained
1/2 cup tomato sauce or juice
1 cup green pepper strips, 1 1/2-inches long
1 cup sliced celery
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon thyme leaves
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 bay leaf, broken in half
Place chicken, skin side down, on broiler pan; sprinkle with paprika and garlic powder to taste. Broil 6 inches from heat source 15 to 20 minutes on each side, or until nearly cooked. Remove from oven.
While the chicken cooks, saute onion and garlic in oil in a large skillet or dutch oven; push to one side, add rice and stir-fry 2 to 3 minutes over medium-high heat. Add tomatoes, gently breaking them up with the back of a spoon, tomato sauce or juice, green pepper, celery, salt, thyme, peppers and bay leaf. Bring to boil and simmer 5 minutes. Remove the bay leaf and spoon mixture into a 2-by-9 3/8 by 11 3/4-inch foil roasting pan or a 9- by 13-inch baking pan.
Arrange chicken thighs, skin side up, along the sides of the pan; place drumsticks in a row down the center of the pan. Cover tightly with foil and place on a cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees 50 minutes or until the chicken and rice are tender.
Makes 8 servings.
If you’d like to eat half right away, then freeze half, place 4 cups rice and 8 chicken pieces on a serving platter and serve immediately.
To freeze 4 individual servings, tear off four 14-inch squares of heavy-duty foil. Place 1 cup of the rice mixture and 2 chicken pieces on the center of each square. Bring the 4 corners of the foil up together in a pyramid shape. Fold edges together in a series of locked folds, pressing air out. Mold tightly against food. Label, date and freeze on a baking sheet. When frozen, remove baking sheet.
To serve, place the frozen bundles on a baking sheet and bake at 425 degrees 45 minutes or until heated through.
Note: If desired, recipe can be prepared and frozen in 8 individual servings, following the packaging directions above, using 8 squares of foil.
The next Forum will appear on Friday’s comics pages.
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