Trying to recapture a taste from my youth - school hot lunch chicken croquettes

[Mikey]

Crazy have a taste for 70's mass produced school lunch chicken croquettes.

Does anybody still make them ?

My local groceries have nothing

[PNGwynne]

I make these every so often from scratch with leftover chicken (that's pretty much the point of them), but I had no idea they were commercialized. My school didn't serve them.

[Mikey]

From what I remember, they were basically your average USA East Coast clam/crab cakes (see Baltimore peeps) --- chicken instead of clams/crab meat --- with some altered white country gravy...

[sprytel]

Haven't had them in ages... but I want to say we ate Stouffer's frozen when I was a kid.

[PNGwynne]

From what I remember, they were basically your average USA East Coast clam/crab cakes (see Baltimore peeps) --- chicken instead of clams/crab meat --- with some altered white country gravy...

I can picture exactly what you mean. I wish I could make you some of mine, from my mother's simple recipe. The binder is thick white sauce--you use part of it in the croquettes, and the rest is thinned and makes the creamy gravy, which is flavored with some chicken base or bullion. Just simple and homey, we always had it with canned mixed vegetables. Now I prefer California blend.

Mmm, makes me hungry lol...

[EmergencyIan]

Sounds good, guys!

Mikey, Google “frozen chicken croquets.” It should give you some idea of what brands to look for in the frozen section. I never search for anything like it, but when I saw Goya’s, I realized that I had seen them.

- Ian

[PNGwynne]

I'm surprised, I had no idea these had merit as a frozen entrée. Seems like they would be soggy.

[J.B.]

I can picture exactly what you mean. I wish I could make you some of mine, from my mother's simple recipe. The binder is thick white sauce--you use part of it in the croquettes, and the rest is thinned and makes the creamy gravy, which is flavored with some chicken base or bullion. Just simple and homey, we always had it with canned mixed vegetables. Now I prefer California blend.

Mmm, makes me hungry lol...

"Damn......that just made my mouth water."

[Duncan]

My school had em, but I absolutely hated them. They were served without any kind of gravy or sauce, and were too dry to choke down.

But, I see that Goya makes a version - maybe try a Mexican grocery?

[EmergencyIan]

^The beauty in NYC and maybe up and down the north east is that Goya is all over every grocery store.

- Ian