Saturday, February 5, 2011

Why Did the Chicken Cross the Road?

Answer: To stay out of my freezer!

There was an amazing deal on chicken last week. It was only $1.28 per pound! But you had to buy 40 pounds to get this amazing deal, so I ended up with a TON of chicken in my freezer. I thought I'd share a few tips with you in regard to chicken.

1. Precook some of your chicken and store it 1-2 cups at a time in storage bags. This is great for recipes that call for already cooked, shredded chicken like casseroles, enchiladas, tacos, etc. When it's time to use it, you can get it out the night before and let it defrost in your freezer, or (if you're like me) you can get it out right before you need it and microwave it for a minute. Then add it to your recipe. Dinner just got 100 times easier!

2. A simple way to shred your precooked chicken is in your Bosch. I used my cookie paddles attachment and level 3 power--- and ended up with fabulously shredded chicken that took me 2 minutes!


3. Cut up some of your chicken before storing it. This comes in handy when you're making stir-fry meals because you won't have to waste time cubing the chicken first. Just defrost it like normal and add it to your recipe.

4. Add some marinade to your chicken before you store it. That way, it will have some yummy flavor once it's defrosted.
Here are some simple marinades:

Italian Chicken
Pour 1/3 cup Italian dressing in with 2-3 chicken breasts and store in a freezer bag.

Lime Fajitas (from MADE)
Juice from 2 limes
2 Tbsp Rice Vinegar
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. black pepper
2 tsp. cumin
optional: 2 Tbsp chopped fresh cilantro, or 2 tbsp. chopped jalapenos

Mix it all together and pour over 2-3 chicken breasts that have been cut thin, fajita syle. Store in a freezer bag.

Lemon Garlic Chicken (from Mel's Kitchen Cafe)
Juice of 1 lemon, approximately 3 tablespoons
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon minced garlic, about 2 medium cloves
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

Mix it all together and pour over 1 pound chicken breasts and freeze.

2 comments:

  1. Wow! Thanks for all the great ideas!! Hopefully I can find some cheap chicken soon and get my freezer stocked up :)

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  2. Laurie,
    The Bosch cookie paddles are on my wish list.
    My question though is how do you cook 40lbs of chicken? That's a lot of chicken - and I always have a fear of it coming out tough.
    Michele

    PS. I want to have you and some other gals over for lunch soon- just waiting for Patricia to get off crutches - poor gal!

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