Saturday, May 2, 2015

Prep Now, Cook Later

Today's blog post is brought to you by S & E being gone for the weekend, Anna Kendrick Radio on Pandora and some priced to sell chicken breasts at the store.

I think I have said it before, I use my crock pot a lot!  I love walking in the door to a ready made meal.

I have been thinking about "freezer cooking" for a while now and decided to spend part of my relaxing weekend alone prepping a few meals.

The premise of freezer cooking is freezer to crock pot with only a little thawing time in between.

Today I made Cilantro-Lime Chicken, BBQ-Cranberry Chicken, and Maple-Dijon Chicken (like I said, chicken was on sale today!)

I started with the Maple-Dijon.
I combined 1C dijon mustard, 1/2 C maple Syrup, 2T red wine vinegar and a little salt and pepper.
I put about 1 1/2 pounds of chicken in a Zip-Lock bag and added the mixture.

On the bag I wrote: Maple-Dijon Chicken. Thaw for 24 hours and cook on low for 8 hours. I also noted to sprinkle rosemary over the top before serving.
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Next I made the BBQ-Cranberry Chicken
I mixed a few sprinkle of dried onion, a can of whole cranberry sauce and 1C BBQ sauce
I added about 2 pounds of chicken and wrote on the bag: BBQ-Cranberry chicken. Thaw overnight and cook on low 6-7 hours.
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Lastly, I made the Cilantro-Lime Chicken
I mixed lime juice (from 2 limes), a bunch on chopped cilantro, frozen corn, 1/2 an onion, 1 can of black beans, a few shakes of cumin and some salt and pepper.

I added about 1 1/2 pounds of chicken. I wrote on the bag: Thaw for 24 hours, cook on low for 8 hours. I also added to serve on tortillas with sour cream, guacamole, salsa and cheese.

I found it helpful to write on the bags before I added any food. I also used a mixing bowl to hold the bag upright while I filled it
There you go. 3 nights of meals with about an hours work or less!
Obviously we haven't eaten them yet but I'll be sure to let you know when we do!