Using Soup Chicken and Frozen vs Fresh carrots for tzimmes

TeachFourth ↓

Thu, Aug 22 2024, 5:15 am

I help manage a bikur cholim kitchen. Each Shabbos we make chicken soup. Some of the chicken goes into the shabbos soup containers and about 10 chickens are left over. Personally, I love eating soup chicken, but I need to find ways to turn it into a main pride-worthy hot dinner. I created a tasty pulled BBQ chicken which people enjoyed.

I'm looking for new ideas. Here are some of my considerations: I need to make something that can be frozen because I need to accumulate enough to fulfill about 75 meals a day, therefore, the usable remaining chicken each week is not enough to use and send out in 1 week. I can leave the chicken parts intact or debone while warm. No nuts, no sesame, limited salt, no celery. Easy is easiest :-) Something like chicken fried rice won't work because I can't control the amount of chicken each meal receives, so I'd like to keep the chicken as the star of the dish. The meals are reheatable dinners.

I'm also looking for tzimmes recipe in mass quantity. I think tzimmes is a good idea because it freezes beautifully and we can start preparing it and freezing it next week. I'm actually thinking about getting frozen sliced carrots but am fearful it won't be as good as fresh carrots. We've not had very good luck using frozen squash and that makes for a lot of very expensive food waste (48 bags worth). If you've had good luck with frozen carrots in tzimmes let me know ASAP because I need to do a test run on all new recipes.

If you have a recipe that you've made and enjoyed and are willing to share, please do! I'm planning menues for the upcoming yom tovim so this year it's going to be tough. You know what the calendar is like to cook for a family. I need to have everything cooked, packaged, and ready to be delivered before yom tov.

IN SHORT: recipes for using soup chicken. Feedback on frozen vs fresh carrots for tzimmes.

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Reality ↓

Thu, Aug 22 2024, 5:58 am

I'm not sure if this is nice enough for a Yom tov meal but I'd debone and shred and turn it into chicken burgers or chicken loaf. If spiced well it is delicious. I make it all the time and my kids love it.

I think tzimmes is a poor choice. Many people really can't stand it. It also has so much sugar. People that are watching their salt many times need to watch their sugar too.

↑ TeachFourth ↓

Thu, Aug 22 2024, 8:42 pm

This is my first time using this site, so please be gentle while I try to figure out how to reply. I couldn't figure out how to reply to each posting individually.

Reality, I'm intrigued with the chicken burger, although not for yom tov, but can you please tell me how to make it. There are 365 days in a year so even if not for now, we make food for every day of the year. I'd love to get some kind of recipe on that one. I was given a thumbs down to meatloaf for meatloaf. I'm starting to think I should just save the chicken for a regular weekday. Also thank you for the feedback on tzimmes, we have a tendency to cook what we like, and I never realized that tzimmes is not everyone's favorite!

Eeble, I discussed chicken pot pie with administration, but would have to do it in casserole form because making individuals would be to9 labor intensive. I personally like the idea and personally enjoy eating it. Again, my desire to not waste the chicken might just have to wait until after yom tov.

I didn't realize that a lot of people don't like tzimmes! What about baked sweet potato? That would certainly be easier.

Ruchi, a lot of our frozen vegetables are either Pardes, Golden Flow or Bodek (we are only allowed to use haimisha brands) I personally am not a fan, but there aren't a lot of choices - which is why I'm fearful of frozen especially after throwing out 3 cases of failed roasted frozen butternut squash because it never seemed fully cooked regardless of all the different attempts.

Ruchi, I can't even begin to imagine how we'd be able to make that many crepes. How many would make an average serving? We serve many families when someone is hospitalized, sick, or had new babies. I love liver but how do younger kids like this one.

↑ Ruchi ↓

Thu, Aug 22 2024, 9:46 pm

Ruchi wrote:

Sauté tonnes of onions in plenty oil and then add shredded cooked chicken and sauté. Add some basic spices , plus a few squirts of ketchup and mix well and sauté for a further few minutes. Then blend and fill in to blintzes. It tastes like liver and is delicious.

Only good quality Frozen carrots for tzimmes will work.

↑ Ruchi

Fri, Aug 23 2024, 1:06 am

TeachFourth wrote:

Upon second thought, the chicken blintzes might not be so child friendly

↑ Reality

Fri, Aug 23 2024, 1:57 am

I make chicken burgers by adding sautéed onions, eggs, a little matzoh meal, a little salt, generous garlic powder and generous dried basil. In my opinion, you need to add a lot of flavor otherwise it is very bland.

Finding healthy side dishes that freeze well is really hard. Green beans. Vegetables in tomato sauce, like ratatouille.

I also want to add, kol hakovod to you for doing this amazing chesed. It is not easy to cook for such a large crowd on a consistent basis. And to be so careful not to waste anything! All I can say is wow!

↑ TeachFourth

Fri, Aug 23 2024, 5:06 pm

Reality wrote:

Thank you for the guidance on replying. I'm trying it here.

It sounds like it may work for us. Is pulling the chicken enough or do I need to pulverize it? We have a fairly high-tech commercial kitchen, but our processor ($2400) is parev. I'm making myself laugh thinking of chopping it all with a knife. I'm excited to try out the recipe, but will try it at home first on a small scale. Trying at home means that I'll decide on my own because, obviously, no outside prepared food is allowed into the building!

Based on your getting me started, I am also thinking of trying to mix the pulled chicken with schwarma spice, make loaves, slice, and serve with pita and Israeli salad (obviously not for a yom tov meal). This could turn into 2 new recipes!

Have a good Shabbos!