Convertible Ground Chicken

This is an interesting way to go about the ground chicken. I went to different ports and couldn’t decide what made me flutter. So, I poached from several different recipes. I found that I could take a base recipe and convert it to three different dishes. Took me a week or three and a bottle of rum to get all the ingredients and directions straightened out so they made sense. By then I couldn’t remember what I poached from where. Read the whole thing here before you decide which dish to make.

************************************************************************************************************************

Ingredients for the meat:

• ¾ cup Bread Crumbs

• 1 Egg

• 1/4 cup sour cream

• 1/2 teaspoon dried tarragon leaves

• 1 teaspoon smoked Paprika

• 3 Garlic Cloves, minced

• ¼ cup grated Parmesan

• 550 grams/ 1.25 pounds ground Chicken

• Salt and pepper to taste

INSTRUCTIONS:

Prepare the meat:

In a large bowl, mix together all the ingredients except ground chicken. Mix well.

Add the ground chicken; mix everything gently with your hands just until combined. At this point, the mixture needs to chill so the meat is easier to shape. Cover and chill in the refrigerator for 1 to 3 hours.

Ingredients for the Sauce:

• 2 tablespoon Olive Oil

• 1 tablespoon Butter

• 2 Garlic Cloves, minced

• ½ cup chopped Onions

• 1 cup finely chopped Mushrooms

• 2 tablespoons Flour

• 1 ½ cups low sodium Chicken Broth

• 1 teaspoon dried Rosemary

• 1/2 teaspoon dried Parsley

• ½ teaspoon Paprika

• Salt and Pepper to taste

• ½ cup Heavy Cream

Instructions for the sauce:

Heat two tablespoons olive oil and a tablespoon of butter in the a 10 inch pan. Add garlic and onions. Cook till the onions soften and become translucent. Add the chopped mushrooms and cook for another 2-3 minutes. Stir in the flour and cook for another minute to get rid of the raw flour flavor. Slowly add the chicken broth and keep whisking continuously till the sauce thickens. Stir in the rosemary, parsley, paprika, salt, pepper. and. Add a little more stock or water if the sauce is too thick. Stir in the heavy cream and switch off the flame. Immediately use for one of your ground chicken choices.

For the meatball choice:

Form the meat mixture into 18 meatballs.

Place them on a Silpat or parchment paper lined cookie sheet.Bake the meatballs for 15 to 20 minutes or until the meatballs are thoroughly cooked to 165 F. Remove the meatballs from the oven and add to the heated prepared sauce.

For Salisbury Steak choice:

Shape prepared meat into 4 or 5 oval patties. Cook over medium heat on each side in 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Add steaks to the heated prepared sauce.

For the Meat Loaf choice:

Line a 7X11 inch pan with foil. Spray with nonstick cooking spray. Firmly press prepared meat mixture into a loaf shape in center of the pan. Spoon half the sauce over top and reserve the rest for serving. Bake 45 minutes or so until meat thermometer reads 165. (temperature will rise to 170 degrees upon standing). Let rest for 10 minutes for easier slicing.

NOTE:

To chop the mushrooms finely, just cut them in half and add them to a food processor. Pulse gently. This will coarsely chop the mushrooms without much effort on your part.

To freeze the meatballs for later use, let them cool for 20 minutes, then chill the meatballs in the refrigerator. Place the chilled meatballs in a single layer on a cookie sheet and freeze them until they are solid. Pack the frozen meatballs into zip loc bags, label the bag with the recipe name and the date it was prepared. After freezing, you should use them within three months for the best quality.

To thaw the chicken meatballs, let the package stand in the refrigerator overnight.