Chicken in the freezer is scaring me......

[welshmum]

......it's all relative I know but I've prepared these flippin' meals and they've got cooked chicken in them and I can't remember whether it's alright to reheat them and eat them.
I get so petrified of killing the children with my own cooking.
Do I defrost the food in the fridge and then reheat it thoroughly?
Do I cook it slowly from frozen?
Do I put it in the bin as I shouldn't have done it in the first place?
(How could I have got to this stage in life without knowing this stuff I am patently useless...but trying to do my best etc etc)
Could more sensible ones assist?
Thanks

[suzywong]

i LOVE these kind of threads! -18 degrees C chicken ones, my faves

Put it in the fridge over night, cook it in the oven at 180 degrees C for 25 minutes until bubbling throughout.

Enjoy!

[welshmum]

Oh thanks Suzywong, you're so kind to take pity on me!
Do I cook it in the oven even though it's a kind of sauce thing that should go on the hob?

[suzywong]

what precisely is it?

if it's in a bag then you should can do it on the hob, put a little bit of boiling water in the pan first and a lid on and heat it very very gently.

[welshmum]

In a bag?!! That would be way too advanced for me.
It's in a plastic box currently.
It's chicken and vegetable in a tomato sauce thing (we call it Kitty Chicken...don't ask)
You then mix it with rice..... and amazingly both the 4 and the 1 year old loved it

[joelallie]

lol!! Such a lovely image. I can just see it glaring at you through the ice.....murder in it's beady little eyes...

Judging by my mum's habits and failure to kill anyone, you can use a freezer as a glorified larder and take things out and put things in to your hearts content. Now she really is terrifying. I would NEVER let my kids eat 'leftovers' there....

[lazycow]

I always defrost this sort of thing overnight in the fridge and then just heat it in the microwave until it is really hot.

You could heat it up on the hob too I assume if there is enough sauce. I would heat it up until it is bubbling and then let it cook for a while (probably 5-10mins but at least until it is hot all the way through)

In an emergency I even use the microwave to defrost and then cook.

BTW ds has food that has been cooked and frozen then defrosted and reheated in the microwave almost every day as he eats at a childminder and I provide all the food.