A Nice and Simple Chicken Marinade

Two weeks ago I posted how I made a few "once a month cooking" meals to put in the freezer and put to the test. Well, it was time to test a few of them and see how they fared. Abigail had a sleepover, so I thought that would be a good time to test the chicken wings I'd thrown in a marinade. I pulled them out of the freezer to thaw overnight, and the whole next day until it was time to cook. I popped them in the oven and baked them at 350º for about an hour. The wings got a nice caramel-brown color and smelled great cooking. I was excited to try them, I mean, Lime and Honey Marinade for Chicken just plain sounds great. I was not going to be disappointed. The wings were very flavorful- tangy from the limes, sweet from the honey, we really liked them. In fact, Zander went to town on them, so that right there is the seal of approval.

The only concern I have about them is that they aren't exactly a budget-friendly item. You would think they would be, but at least where I live, honey is not the most inexpensive grocery item. 8 ounces of honey in one chicken marinade is quite a bit. They were plenty sweet, so I would suggest cutting that amount in half- I think it would be plenty. I would also suggest baking the chicken IN the marinade to get as much flavor in the wings as possible. I tossed the marinade, and I think it would have made a great glaze for the chicken. Overall, I like the wings, and we'll be doing them again.

I also thought I would report back on the homemade pizza I'd tossed in the freezer. That worked remarkably well. I had assembled my pizza in it's completely raw state and flash froze it, wrapping it well with foil. We popped it into the oven froze at 425ºF and about 35 minutes later we had homemade pizza without the work. However. The crust was a bit soft, and by the time the crust had firmed up enough to even eat the pizza, the toppings were very brown. So the next time we do a frozen homemade pizza (and there will be a next time) I am going to pre-bake the crust. I'll let the crust cool, then top, then freeze. I think that will produce a much better quality homemade pizza. I'm just so excited to figure out that I can make homemade frozen pizzas. How cool is that?

Lime and Honey Marinade for Chicken
12 pieces of chicken (I used 18 wings)
3 large limes -- juice and zest of
8 ounces liquid honey
1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
1 garlic clove -- crushed (optional)

Combine lime juice, lime zest, honey, ginger, and garlic in a large Ziploc bag.

Add chicken and combine well.

Squeeze out as much air as possible and freeze.

Remove from freezer the night before serving and defrost all day in the fridge; chicken will marinate as it defrosts.

Transfer chicken to a roasting pan and bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes (40-45 minutes for bone-in chicken), or until chicken is cooked through. Keep an eye on it towards the end as the marinade can get a bit dark in spots. Flip the chicken over if necessary to keep the browning even.

You can also cook this chicken on the BBQ/grill if desired