The Perdue Chicken Cookbook

by Mitzi Perdue

Chapter One: CHICKEN FOR EVERYDAY

Napoleon's cook once bet that he could cook chicken a different way every day of the year. The cook found that this was an easy bet to win, and I can see why, having looked at the recipes in Frank's files. Chicken's versatility seems almost endless. Perdue Farms home economists have been developing chicken recipes since the early 1970s and as a result, Frank has more than 2000 chicken recipes. If only Napoleon had chosen to bet with me, I could have won even if he'd said the bet was for six years!

In this chapter, you'll find some of Frank's and my favorites for every day cooking. But there are different kinds of every day cooking, so I've divided the chapter into three sections to take care of three different every day situations.

The first section, Fast Food Chicken from Your Refrigerator, is for when you're in a hurry and want dinner on the table in the shortest possible time. None of these recipes takes more than 15 minutes, and many are ready in five. However, you will find special tricks to make the food more interesting than just heat and serve.

The second section, Perdue Plus Five, is for when you don't mind if dinner isn't ready for another hour or so, but you want your part of the preparation to be as brief as possible. The recipes in this section use only five ingredients in addition to chicken, salt, and pepper, and all of the recipes are simple to prepareathough they may take awhile to cook.

The third section, Family Favorites, is for relaxed times. When you don't mind spending some time putting together something your family will really like, try this section. FAST FOOD CHICKEN FROM YOUR REFRIGERATOR (PHOTO: The most valuable player on the TV Football- party table might be Perdue Done It!)

Frank loves to tell people that they can pick up delicious, fast-food chicken within easy walking distanceatheir refrigerators. "When you're hungry and in a hurry," he says, "you don't need to rush across town for great chicken. You can just walk (slowly) to your refrigerator and pick up my Perdue Done It! chicken."

Although fried foods are notoriously high in fat, particularly fast food ones. Perdue Done It! is an exception. Frank flash fries the Perdue Done It! products. They are in oil for seconds only. Further, to assure the chicken is as low in saturated fat as possible, Perdue uses only polyunsaturated soybean oil.

In the recipes that follow, I've used generic nuggets, cutlets, tenders, and other fully cooked products. However, try for the Perdue Done It! if you live in the Perdue marketing area, which is the East Coast and some of the Mid Western states. The Perdue nuggets, cutlets and tenders come from white meat fillets, while some of the other brands are pressed and formed from dark meat chicken and don't have the best texture or flavor. TENDERS, AND NUGGETS Chick on a Biscuit: Split hot baked biscuits. Fill each with a breaded chicken nugget and a thin slice of ham; top with mustard. Chicken Mexicali: Top cutlets or tenders with prepared salsa and avocado slices. Chicken Parmesan: Top partially heated cutlets with spaghetti sauce and sliced mozzarella cheese; broil briefly to melt cheese. Super Caesar Salad: Quarter heated nuggets and toss with croutons, Romaine lettuce, and Caesar salad dressing. Holiday Crepe: Heat breast tenders and place on a warm crepe. Top with cranberry sauce and roll up; serve with sour cream. Japanese Meal-in-a-Bowl: Prepare Japanese-style noodle soup (ramen) as directed. Add heated chicken breast nuggets or tenders, sliced scallions and a dash of soy sauce. (I often put this in a Thermos and bring it to Frank at his office when he's working late.) Nugget Sticks: On metal skewers, alternately thread 4 to 5 chicken breast nuggets with 2 inch pieces of bacon. Heat in oven as directed on nugget package. Dip into prepared chutney or sweet-sour sauce. Stir-Fry Snack: Stir-fry wings in a little oil with red bell pepper strips, scallions and sliced water chestnuts. Season with soy sauce. Serve over rice. Substantial Sub: Split a loaf of Italian bread lengthwise. Pile on heated breaded chicken cutlets or tenders, provolone cheese, sliced tomato, sweet onion, pimentos and shredded lettuce. Douse with bottled salad dressing and dig in. Tenders Under Wraps: Brush Boston lettuce leaves with prepared hoisin sauce or Chinese-style duck sauce. Place a heated tender or 2 nuggets and a piece of scallion on top. Roll up lettuce around tender, securing with a toothpick. PRECOOKED HOT & SPICY WINGS Chicken Antipasto: Arrange hot & spicy wings on platter with slices of provolone cheese, sliced tomatoes, marinated artichoke hearts and olives. Out-of-Buffalo Wings: Warm hot & spicy wings and arrange with celery sticks around a blue cheese dip. Combine 3/4 cup mayonnaise, 1/3 cup crumbled blue cheese and 1 minced scallion in a small bowl. Speedy Arroz Con Pollo: Prepare a box of Spanish rice mix as package directs. During last 10 minutes of cooking time, add 1 package hot & spicy wings, 1 package thawed frozen peas and 1/2 cup sliced olives. ed chicken, toasted almonds, and chopped scallions. Blend in mayonnaise flavored with curry powder and spoon back into pineapple shell to serve. Cheesy Chick: Prepare packaged stuffing mix as directed, adding 1 cup shredded Jarlsberg or Swiss cheese. Stuff whole roasted chicken or Cornish hens with mixture; heat until warmed through. Chicken Frittata: Shred roasted chicken or cut breaded chicken into cubes. Add to beaten eggs, along with mushrooms, onions, and any leftover vegetables. Cook mixture quickly, forming into an open-faced omelet or frittata. Chicken Normandy: Arrange cut-up roasted chicken or Cornish hen meat in a shallow baking dish and scatter thinly sliced apples around pieces. Cover and heat until hot and apples are tender. Stir in a little light or heavy cream and warm to serve. Chicken Reuben: Thinly slice roasted chicken. Pile on sliced rye that's been spread with Russian dressing. Top with prepared sauerkraut, a slice of Swiss cheese, and another slice of rye. Grill or pan fry sandwiches until cheese melts. Chicken Sesame: Brush roasted chicken or Cornish hens with bottled salad dressing; sprinkle surface with sesame seeds and heat as directed. Fabulous Fajitas: Slice roasted chicken into strips. Saute in oil, adding lime juice, garlic, and ground cumin to taste. Roll up in warm flour tortillas and top with chunks of avocado, chopped scallion, and cherry tomatoes. Pasta Pizazz: Saute pieces of roasted or breaded chicken with sliced zucchini, chopped onion, sliced mushrooms, and garlic. Add a dash of heavy cream and toss with hot cooked spaghetti or noodles. Power Pita: Slice roasted chicken and stuff into a whole wheat pita bread. Top with shredded carrots, alfalfa sprouts, red pepper strips and a tablespoon of dressing made of plain yogurt seasoned with lemon juice, curry powder and salt and pepper to taste. Stir Fried Chicken: Dice roasted chicken into a wok or skillet and stir-fry with scallions, celery, mushrooms, and peas. Add cooked rice and soy sauce to taste; toss well. Super Spud: Halve a baked potato and top with shredded roasted chicken mixed with a little mayonnaise. Pile on shredded Swiss cheese, bacon bits, and chopped chives; bake or microwave until cheese melts. Taco Perdue: Cube roasted chicken and serve in taco shells, topped with shredded lettuce, chopped tomatoes, onion, shredded cheese, and taco sauce. PHOTO: Harvest fruit adds seasonal flavor to chicken - 3 Golden Nugget Salad: Heat 1 package of chicken breast nuggets. Combine with Romaine lettuce, halved cherry tomatoes and diced avocado. Toss with your favorite dressing.

NUGGETS OR TENDERS WITH DIP Fully cooked breaded chicken breast nuggets (14-18 per package)

or Tenders (6-8 per package) Following package directions, warm nuggets or tenders in a conventional oven or, using package tray, heat in a microwave oven. Serve with ketchup or your favorite mustard. For myself, I've been trying some of the more exotic mustards from the supermarket and sometimes I put out several kinds in pretty little dishes that I'd otherwise use for nuts. Instead of a wine or cheese tasting, my guests end up trying different mustards.