Yesterday was our first full day home after traveling for the holidays and you'd think I'd be prepared with something to make for dinner but I wasn't. Around 4 o'clock I found myself rummaging through the freezer to see what I had because there was no way we were eating out again. Especially considering today is New Year's Eve and we already have plans to visit a local restaurant to celebrate.
I found a frozen bag of chicken legs and thighs and thought, why not?
I know it's not the preferred method but I've cooked from frozen before and I'll probably do it again. I'm a busy mom.
On my counter stood a bottle of white wine left over from a party I threw last week and in my fruit bowl were some aging clementines that no wants to eat because I accidentally bought the kind with seeds.
An idea was born.
I decided braising would be the best method since my chicken pieces were frozen solid, and my intuition was correct. This chicken came out DELICIOUS. All 3 boys enjoyed it even though this little guy had NO interest in dinner.
I served it with baked white sweet potatoes and roasted cauliflower but in hindsight the liquid the chicken cooked in would have made a great gravy. Not so much for mashed potatoes but brown rice definitely!
Anyway, here's what I did. I hope it gives you some ideas to mix up chicken night.
Ingredients
- Frozen chicken leg and thigh pieces
- 2 cups white wine (I used a Pinot Grigio)
- 1 tablespoon garlic powder
- 1 tablespoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon ground mustard seed
- 2-3 pinches of salt
- 3 clementines
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Pop the chicken in the microwave for a minute or 2 just to be able to break apart the pieces.
Meanwhile add the wine, garlic powder, onion powder, thyme, mustard and salt to a roasting pan.
Cut the clementines in half and squeeze as much juice as possible into the wine mixture.
Whisk to combine everything.
Separate the chicken pieces and submerge them into the liquid. Squish in the clementine halves as well.
Bake for 1 hour.
After the hour remove the cover and crank up the temperature to 425 degrees.
Bake for an additional 30-45 minutes. The exposed skin will crisp and the internal temp should be at least 165 degrees.
Discard the clementines and serve with your favorite sides!
I needed a good home-cooked meal this week!
Sorry for the bad photos, there's no darn light here after 5 p.m.
No nutritional info on this one. just count it as a chicken thigh or leg. That's how I did it in my food journal.
Happy New Year everyone!
📖 Recipe
Clementine and White Wine Braised Chicken
Ingredients
- Frozen chicken leg and thigh pieces
- 2 cups white wine I used a Pinot Grigio
- 1 tablespoon garlic powder
- 1 tablespoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon ground mustard seed
- 2-3 pinches of salt
- 3 clementines
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Pop the chicken in the microwave for a minute or 2 just to be able to break apart the pieces.Frozen chicken leg and thigh pieces
- Meanwhile add the wine, garlic powder, onion powder, thyme, mustard and salt to a roasting pan.2 cups white wine, 1 tablespoon garlic powder, 1 tablespoon onion powder, 1 teaspoon dried thyme, 1 teaspoon ground mustard seed, 2-3 pinches of salt
- Cut the clementines in half and squeeze as much juice as possible into the wine mixture.3 clementines
- Whisk to combine everything.
- Separate the chicken pieces and submerge them into the liquid. Squish in the clementine halves as well.
- Bake for 1 hour.
- After the hour remove the cover and crank up the temperature to 425 degrees.
- Bake for an additional 30-45 minutes. The exposed skin will crisp and the internal temp should be at least 165 degrees.
- Discard the clementines and serve with your favorite sides!
Paige
I have a bunch of frozen skinless thighs. how would you change the cooking time/temp? I've never cooked from frozen like this, but the recipe looks yummy & I have everything I need! Maybe we can do this instead of leftover night tonight!
roni
If they are frozen you wouldn't have to change much. They would probably be done after the hour at 350. If you defrost them the cooking time would just be reduced. Everything should be the same. Hope you like it!
carol
I love this...how you just threw it together....and it does look delicious...I know what I'm going to do with my last few clementines. Thanks for this great idea!