Help Please, Chicken & Zucchini

Gal Called J.J. said:

Hey all -- the following recipe is my version of a frozen dinner,
but I'm not satisfied with how it reheats, so I'm looking for
some suggestions:

Chicken & Zucchini w/Bearnaise Sauce

26 oz. chicken breast, skinless & boneless
10 oz. zucchini, skin on, sliced
8 oz. (12 med) white mushrooms, sliced
1 prepared package McCormick Bearnaise Sauce
(McCormick Bearnaise Sauce Blend w/4 T. butter
and 8 oz. 1% milk)

Steam chicken and cut into 1" cubes. Arrange with raw zucchini and
mushrooms in 4 meal trays, cover each with ¼ of Bearnaise sauce.
Heat at 350º F for ½ hour (1 hour if frozen).

(Please, no fussing about my using packaged Bearnaise sauce, because
I happen to really like it.)

Okay, the problem is that when reheated, the veggies add a lot of
water which dilutes the sauce (the sauce also breaks, but that's
probably unavoidable). Would it help to steam the veggies with the
chicken before freezing? Any other helpful suggestions? Many thanks
in advance... :-)

Just me, but I would pan fry or broil the chicken breasts rather than steam
it. And yes, you should steam the zucchini first and let it drain to rid
yourself of excess liquid. Not sure about the breaking of the sauce - could
be due to the excess moisture leaching out of the zucchini.

Jill

Gal Called J.J. said:

Hey all -- the following recipe is my version of a frozen dinner,
but I'm not satisfied with how it reheats, so I'm looking for
some suggestions:

Chicken & Zucchini w/Bearnaise Sauce

26 oz. chicken breast, skinless & boneless
10 oz. zucchini, skin on, sliced
8 oz. (12 med) white mushrooms, sliced
1 prepared package McCormick Bearnaise Sauce
(McCormick Bearnaise Sauce Blend w/4 T. butter
and 8 oz. 1% milk)

Steam chicken and cut into 1" cubes. Arrange with raw zucchini and
mushrooms in 4 meal trays, cover each with ¼ of Bearnaise sauce.
Heat at 350º F for ½ hour (1 hour if frozen).

(Please, no fussing about my using packaged Bearnaise sauce, because
I happen to really like it.)

Okay, the problem is that when reheated, the veggies add a lot of
water which dilutes the sauce (the sauce also breaks, but that's
probably unavoidable). Would it help to steam the veggies with the
chicken before freezing? Any other helpful suggestions? Many thanks
in advance... :-)

Why not freeze the meat and veg without the sauce? Since it's packaged
sauce, you can make it up while the food is heating.
Both courgettes/zucchini and mushrooms release a lot of water after
freezing, so there's not much one can do there other than precook and
drain them.

One time on Usenet said:

"Gal Called J.J." wrote:

<snip>

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Okay, the problem is that when reheated, the veggies add a lot of
water which dilutes the sauce (the sauce also breaks, but that's
probably unavoidable). Would it help to steam the veggies with the
chicken before freezing? Any other helpful suggestions? Many thanks
in advance... :-)

Quoted message said:

Why not freeze the meat and veg without the sauce? Since it's packaged
sauce, you can make it up while the food is heating.

One package of sauce makes four servings, and this is just for
me, so at least three of those servings need to be frozen.

Quoted message said:

Both courgettes/zucchini and mushrooms release a lot of water after
freezing, so there's not much one can do there other than precook and
drain them.

Actually, I think that's just what I need to do. Thanks to you and
Jill for your helpful suggestions... :-)

--
J.J. in WA ~ mom, vid gamer, novice cook ~
"I rule you!" - Travis of the Cosmos, ATHF

One time on Usenet said:

Gal Called J.J. wrote:

<snip>

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Okay, the problem is that when reheated, the veggies add a lot of
water which dilutes the sauce (the sauce also breaks, but that's
probably unavoidable). Would it help to steam the veggies with the
chicken before freezing? Any other helpful suggestions? Many thanks
in advance... :-)

Just me, but I would pan fry or broil the chicken breasts rather than steam
it. And yes, you should steam the zucchini first and let it drain to rid
yourself of excess liquid. Not sure about the breaking of the sauce - could
be due to the excess moisture leaching out of the zucchini.

I think you're right, Jill, it's all that extra water. Both you and
Arri have suggested cooking the veggies first, so that's what I'll
do. Thanks... :-)

--
J.J. in WA ~ mom, vid gamer, novice cook ~
"I rule you!" - Travis of the Cosmos, ATHF

Gal Called J.J. said:

One time on Usenet said:

"Gal Called J.J." wrote:

<snip>

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Okay, the problem is that when reheated, the veggies add a lot of
water which dilutes the sauce (the sauce also breaks, but that's
probably unavoidable). Would it help to steam the veggies with the
chicken before freezing? Any other helpful suggestions? Many thanks
in advance... :-)

Quoted message said:

Why not freeze the meat and veg without the sauce? Since it's packaged
sauce, you can make it up while the food is heating.

One package of sauce makes four servings, and this is just for
me, so at least three of those servings need to be frozen.

Back in the days when I used packaged sauce mixes, it was easy enough to
divide up the pack. No need to use it all at once. It will never freeze
properly without the commercial stabilisers the food processing people
use.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Both courgettes/zucchini and mushrooms release a lot of water after
freezing, so there's not much one can do there other than precook and
drain them.

Actually, I think that's just what I need to do. Thanks to you and
Jill for your helpful suggestions... :-)

YW!

One time on Usenet said:

Gal Called J.J. said:

One time on Usenet, Arri London <[email hidden]> said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Why not freeze the meat and veg without the sauce? Since it's packaged
sauce, you can make it up while the food is heating.

One package of sauce makes four servings, and this is just for
me, so at least three of those servings need to be frozen.

Back in the days when I used packaged sauce mixes, it was easy enough to
divide up the pack. No need to use it all at once. It will never freeze
properly without the commercial stabilisers the food processing people
use.

Okay, I'm feeling really stupid right now -- that just didn't occur to
me!

--
J.J. in WA ~ mom, vid gamer, novice cook ~
"I rule you!" - Travis of the Cosmos, ATHF

Gal Called J.J. said:

One time on Usenet said:

Gal Called J.J. said:

One time on Usenet, Arri London <[email hidden]> said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

> Why not freeze the meat and veg without the sauce? Since it's packaged
> sauce, you can make it up while the food is heating.

One package of sauce makes four servings, and this is just for
me, so at least three of those servings need to be frozen.

Back in the days when I used packaged sauce mixes, it was easy enough to
divide up the pack. No need to use it all at once. It will never freeze
properly without the commercial stabilisers the food processing people
use.

Okay, I'm feeling really stupid right now -- that just didn't occur to
me!

LOL! Ah but it won't be precise you know 🙂 But it does work.

One time on Usenet said:

Gal Called J.J. said:

One time on Usenet said:

"Gal Called J.J." wrote:
> One time on Usenet, Arri London <[email hidden]> said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

> > Why not freeze the meat and veg without the sauce? Since it's packaged
> > sauce, you can make it up while the food is heating.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

> One package of sauce makes four servings, and this is just for
> me, so at least three of those servings need to be frozen.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Back in the days when I used packaged sauce mixes, it was easy enough to
divide up the pack. No need to use it all at once. It will never freeze
properly without the commercial stabilisers the food processing people
use.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Okay, I'm feeling really stupid right now -- that just didn't occur to
me!

Quoted message said:

LOL! Ah but it won't be precise you know 🙂 But it does work.

That's the thing, I have a neat electronic ounce/gram scale in
my kitchen (I'm on a calorie counting diet and have to know exact
measurements), so I could easily break one package into 4 individual
portions before it's prepared. I just didn't think of it, so I really
appreciate your help, Arri... :-)

--
J.J. in WA ~ mom, vid gamer, novice cook ~
"I rule you!" - Travis of the Cosmos, ATHF

Gal Called J.J. said:

One time on Usenet said:

Gal Called J.J. said:

One time on Usenet, Arri London <[email hidden]> said:
> "Gal Called J.J." wrote:
> > One time on Usenet, Arri London <[email hidden]> said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

> > > Why not freeze the meat and veg without the sauce? Since it's packaged
> > > sauce, you can make it up while the food is heating.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

> > One package of sauce makes four servings, and this is just for
> > me, so at least three of those servings need to be frozen.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

> Back in the days when I used packaged sauce mixes, it was easy enough to
> divide up the pack. No need to use it all at once. It will never freeze
> properly without the commercial stabilisers the food processing people
> use.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Okay, I'm feeling really stupid right now -- that just didn't occur to
me!

Quoted message said:

LOL! Ah but it won't be precise you know 🙂 But it does work.

That's the thing, I have a neat electronic ounce/gram scale in
my kitchen (I'm on a calorie counting diet and have to know exact
measurements), so I could easily break one package into 4 individual
portions before it's prepared. I just didn't think of it, so I really
appreciate your help, Arri... :-)

YW! Let us know how it turns out.

One time on Usenet said:

Gal Called J.J. said:

One time on Usenet said:

"Gal Called J.J." wrote:
> One time on Usenet, Arri London <[email hidden]> said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

>> Back in the days when I used packaged sauce mixes, it was easy
>> enough to divide up the pack. No need to use it all at once.
>> It will never freeze properly without the commercial stabilisers
>> the food processing people use.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

> Okay, I'm feeling really stupid right now -- that just didn't occur
> to me!

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

LOL! Ah but it won't be precise you know 🙂 But it does work.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

That's the thing, I have a neat electronic ounce/gram scale in
my kitchen (I'm on a calorie counting diet and have to know exact
measurements), so I could easily break one package into 4 individual
portions before it's prepared. I just didn't think of it, so I really
appreciate your help, Arri... :-)

Quoted message said:

YW! Let us know how it turns out.

Last week I steamed the mushrooms, zucchini, & chicken, then froze
each portion; finally got around to having some last night. I decided
it needed some starch, so I chopped a small white potato and added it
to the dish, heated it at 350 F. for an hour, then poured the freshly
made Bernaise over all. It was great!! And only 400 kcals. Thanks again
for the advice, Arri and Jill, I appreciate it... :-)

--
J.J. in WA ~ mom, vid gamer, novice cook ~
"You still haven't explained why the pool is
filled with elf blood." - Frylock, ATHF

Gal Called J.J. said:

One time on Usenet said:

Gal Called J.J. said:

One time on Usenet, Arri London <[email hidden]> said:
> "Gal Called J.J." wrote:
> > One time on Usenet, Arri London <[email hidden]> said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

>>> Back in the days when I used packaged sauce mixes, it was easy
>>> enough to divide up the pack. No need to use it all at once.
>>> It will never freeze properly without the commercial stabilisers
>>> the food processing people use.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

>> Okay, I'm feeling really stupid right now -- that just didn't occur
>> to me!

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

> LOL! Ah but it won't be precise you know 🙂 But it does work.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

That's the thing, I have a neat electronic ounce/gram scale in
my kitchen (I'm on a calorie counting diet and have to know exact
measurements), so I could easily break one package into 4 individual
portions before it's prepared. I just didn't think of it, so I really
appreciate your help, Arri... :-)

Quoted message said:

YW! Let us know how it turns out.

Last week I steamed the mushrooms, zucchini, & chicken, then froze
each portion; finally got around to having some last night. I decided
it needed some starch, so I chopped a small white potato and added it
to the dish, heated it at 350 F. for an hour, then poured the freshly
made Bernaise over all. It was great!! And only 400 kcals. Thanks again
for the advice, Arri and Jill, I appreciate it... :-)

YW! Glad it worked.