I only cook for two. Which means half the time I forget to take the chicken out of the freezer until 6 p.m., at which point dinner is either takeout or sadness. I used to do the “run it under warm water” thing — do not do that — until a chef friend smacked that idea out of my head.

You Can Cook Frozen Meat. Seriously.

The USDA says it is safe. The key is you need about 50% more cooking time. That is the whole trick. A chicken breast that takes 20 minutes thawed takes 30 minutes from frozen. A steak takes about 1.5x longer on each side.

How to Actually Do It

Chicken breasts: Season them frozen — the seasoning sticks better than you would expect. Into a hot pan with oil. Sear both sides until browned, then add a splash of broth or water, cover, and let them steam through. Internal temp 165F. They come out juicier than thawed chicken because you are not losing moisture during a defrost cycle.

Ground beef: Put the frozen block in a pan over medium heat. Scrape off the cooked layer every few minutes like you are shaving a giant kebab. It takes maybe 12 minutes instead of 7. Add your taco seasoning and nobody will know.

Steak: This one is trickier. Sear frozen steak on high heat, then finish in a low oven (250F) until it hits your temp. Do not try to pan-cook a frozen steak all the way through — the outside will be charcoal before the center is warm. Reverse sear works best here.

Things That Do Not Work From Frozen

Breaded anything. Slow cooker recipes (frozen meat sits in the danger zone too long). Thin fish fillets — they turn to mush. And do not try to slice frozen meat for stir fry unless you own a bandsaw.

I have been cooking frozen chicken on weeknights for a year now. Nobody in my house has noticed. Or if they have, they have not said anything, which is basically the same thing.