Read This Blog Post If…

…making dinner is NOT your favorite activity of the day.
…you need to stock your freezer with meals to prepare for an upcoming medical procedure.
…you are a busy student/career person and would like a home cooked meal, but just don’t have the time.
…you are looking for an easy meal idea.

This morning I made Apricot-Glazed Chicken Tenders from the “Don’t Panic, Dinner’s in the Freezer” cookbook. I multiplied the recipe by 3, so tonight we will eat this for dinner and I will have 2 more meals to put in the freezer for another day. Yay!

Chicken Tenders cost me around $6 for a 3 pound bag at my grocery store. Most everything else I had on hand. I substituted peach jam for apricot jam since I had some homemade peach jam.

I measured out the chicken tenders in to zip top freezer bags, then simply dumped the marinade ingredients right into the bags. I zipped them up and squished everything around to mix and started on the glaze.

Start to finish I probably spent less than an hour making 3 dinners. If you want to make this meal too, here are the ingredients and instructions.

2 lbs. chicken tenders

Marinade
1/3 cup vegetable oil
3 cloves minced garlic
2 T. lemon juice
1 t. rosemary
1 t. thyme
Salt and pepper to taste (approx ¼ t.)
1 small bay leaf crumbled

Glaze
1 onion, minced
1 T. butter
2 T. cider vinegar
1 cup apricot preserves
1 T. soy sauce
2 t. Dijon mustard
¼ t. ginger
¼ t. cloves
¼ t. salt
1/8 t. pepper

Cooking Day Instructions
For marinade: In large freezer bag, combine marinade ingredients. Add chicken pieces, toss to coat, and marinate at room temperature one hour. (If preparing for that day, chill 6-8 hours or overnight. Prepare glaze below and refrigerate.)

Meanwhile, prepare the apricot glaze following the directions below. After one hour of marinating time, freeze.

For apricot glaze: In saucepan, cook onion in butter over moderate heat, stirring until softened. Add vinegar and continue cooking until liquid has reduced by one-half. Add preserves, soy sauce, Dijon mustard, spices, salt and pepper. Cook uncovered, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes or until thick. Place mixture in a food processor or blender and puree. (I used a submersible stick blender right in the pan.) Freeze apricot glaze in a separate, smaller freezer bag. Store in freezer together with marinated chicken.

Serving Day Instructions
Thaw chicken pieces and discard marinade. Place chicken on rack of broiler pan and broil 6 inches from heat, 5 minutes on each side. Baste chicken generously with apricot glaze and broil 3 minutes on each side or until well glazed and brown. Adjust cooking time if using thicker cuts of chicken.

Hint
Chicken can also be prepared on a charcoal or gas grill. To bake chicken, place pieces in a large baking dish. Bake at 435 degrees for approximately 35-40 minutes, basting with apricot glaze and turning every 10 minutes. Do not overcook. Shortly before chicken is done, put the chicken under the broiler and broil until golden brown and bubbly.

The finished product and a tip for pouring glaze in bags.