Chicken Croquettes

I get off work just in time to come home and have a quiet lunch before picking up my son from school.  Not being a big fan of sandwiches, I rely often on leftovers.  On days we don't have leftovers, I tend to scavenge.  However several months ago I ran across a recipe for turkey croquettes that I thought would be good to make in a large batch and freeze for my lunch occasionally.  On my first attempt, ground chicken was on sale, so I bought that instead of ground turkey, and I've been making it with chicken instead since.  Some of the flavor combinations in the original recipe didn't appeal to me either, so I used it as a base and created my own recipe from there.

These are quick to make up and freeze very well.  I pan fry them frozen.  Just be sure to cook them completely in the middle.  Here are my chicken croquettes pictured with some leftover pasta salad from Monday.   (It's a yummy pasta.  I must figure out who made it and get the recipe!)

Chicken Croquettes

1/2 cup onion, diced
1 tablespoon olive or vegetable oil
1 pound ground chicken
1/4 cup panko breadcrumbs
2 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon seasoned salt (like Lowrey's)
freshly ground black pepper

Heat oil in a small frying pan over medium heat.  Add diced onions and saute until translucent.  Let cool while combining the rest of the ingredients.

In bowl, mix chicken, breadcrumbs, milk, seasoned salt and pepper.  Add in onions.  Mix well.  Refrigerate 30 minutes.  Line a baking sheet with waxed paper.  Form into small patties - about 3 inches in diameter.  (I used an ice cream scoop to make balls and then flattened the balls).  Place patties on baking sheet and freeze until firm.  Remove from baking sheet and store in zip-lock bags or in freezer safe containers.

To cook, remove patties from freezer and defrost in the refrigerator several hours.  (Or you can cook them from frozen.  They will just take a little longer.)  Heat olive or vegetable oil in a frying pan over medium heat.  Place patties in pan and brown on both sides, about 7 minutes, making sure they are cooked through.