Clearing out the Freezer/ Easy Chicken Recipe

I recently read a great book that I'd highly recommend to anyone: The Kitchen Counter Cooking School.  The basic premise is a Cordon Bleu trained chef who mentors nine "ordinary" women in feeling more comfortable in their kitchens.  Many of the lessons are pretty basic, but the book + our impending move + a random piece on NPR with Mark Hyman about toxicity in foods made me look at my kitchen in a different way.  I've never thought of myself as a hoarder, but nothing will shatter your delusions of minimalism like packing house.   The amount of "just in case" foodstuffs I had stuffed in my freezer and pantry is downright embarassing.  The worst part is those bags of "just in case" appetizers from Costco never lived up to their promise of stress-free entertaining.  "Oh, you're down the street and want to pop in, sure no problem!" Instead of sashaying to the freezer/pantry and grabbing something, this is always followed by a frantic phone call to The Husband asking for a list of brand-new ingredients to try out a brand-new recipe.  Whatever is left over gets put in the freezer/pantry.  Can you picture what happens over the years?  It's as though some part of me is planning for a post-apocalyptical food shortage and is afraid to use those candy wafers, boxed cake mix and  whipped topping ... you know, ... just in case!  Because who wants to face the dissolution of society as we know it without cake pops?
SO, for the last 5 weeks, I have been shopping out of my freezer and have only purchased dairy products (we don't have a cow yet) and a few produce items (tomatoes aren't even in the ground yet).  And somehow, I've managed to put together some pretty great meals.  Stuffed artichokes in a brothy bechamel sauce anyone?  Chicken sumac on a bed of carmelized onions?  There is nothing so satisfying as The Husband and Kids wiping their mouth asking, "When did you have time to go grocery shopping?" and responding with a faux-modest smirk.
The best/worst part is that after 5 weeks, the stores of food are still embarassingly full.  I know we are blessed to live in such plenty and am grateful that an over-stuffed freezer and pantry is my problem.  But I also worry that I will be held accountable as steward of all this .... suff.
One of the recipes that has become a staple is one that I had previously only passed on to family and very close friends and sworn them to secrecy.  It is sometimes known as Gravy Chicken, sometimes as Mmmm Mmmm Chicken, sometimes just mumbling as it is being shoved into the mouth.  I will provide the basic recipe but the best part is that you can replace the chicken with firm fish fillets and the onions with any frozen vegetables you have on hand (though I would still saute the onion first).

This was made with salmon fillets and a bag of rescued frozen vegetables

Mmmmm Mmmmm Gravy Chicken

1/4 cup flour

Salt and Pepper
Chicken pieces
Butter and Oil
Onion (chopped)
Chicken Broth (about 3/4 - 1 cup)
Lemon Juice
Thyme

Mix flour with salt and pepper and dredge chicken pieces in this (easiest way is to put the flour in a ziplock bag and then throw the chicken in  and shake)
Warm pan and put in a pat of butter and olive oil.
Brown chicken on both sides until golden and set aside
Add onion to pan and saute until softened
Add the remaining flour and let onion "absorb" the flour
Slowly add the broth and mix quickly, it will thicken fast
Add lemon juice and thyme to taste
Put chicken back in the pan and cover with sauce
Bring to boil and let simmer until chicken is cooked through
Plate chicken and then pour drizzle the sauce on top.

This is not gourmet, nor is it particularly healthy, but it is something that you can make relatively quickly and be sure that it always turns out.  It's also a good way to use up (blech!  What a horrible thing to say about food) odds and ends of vegetables you have in your fridge/freezer/pantry.

Five weeks of eating out of my freezer and pantry have shown me how bizarre our consumption habits are.  It's something I would encourage everyone to try if for no other reason than to spare the world from me sharing all the insights I've gained from this "project" (i.e. gain them yourselves!)