Tastes like chicken...

My local grocery store was having a great sale on chicken. I did something I haven't done for a while, but I'm always glad when I do. I bought lots and lots of chicken and then spent the day freezing it different ways so it will be super easy for me (lazy cook) to make dinner with the next few months.

Here are some of the ideas/recipes:


Almost half of it I made into "Chicken Mix". This can be used in soups (chicken tortilla, chicken noodle, etc.) enchiladas, quesadillas, pretty much anything that calls for cooked shredded chicken. This tastes so good, and really isn't that hard considering all the meals you can get out of one batch.


The rest of the chicken I divided into meal size portions and put in Zip-lock bags with different marinades: Italian dressing (for making Chris's yummy Monterrey chicken), Ceasar (for Becky Higgin's garlic chicken farfalle), Lemon chicken marinade, the soy sauce, oil and Sprite marinade, and some Cranberry chicken. All of these will spend time marinating in my fridge, and then I will move them into the freezer. When I want to cook them I just defrost and grill or whatever. Somehow saving that step of having to marinade them makes me more likely to cook. I also do not like handling raw meat (I think I've had to take too many food handler's classes that have scared me into thinking I'm going to die of Salmonella poisoning). I would much rather handle a whole bunch on one day and then clean it all up at once.


I also did some Meat Burro Mix for when we are sick of chicken. This works great in burritos, enchiladas, etc.


Anyway, this really helps me at meal time. It's a nice addition to your "three month supply" too. Here are some of the recipes if you're interested:


Chicken Mix Make-A-Mix
11 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts
4 quarts water
3 tablespoons parsley
4 handfuls baby carrots chopped (I use the food processor)
4 teaspoons salt
½ teaspoon pepper
2 teaspoons basil
Combine all ingredients in a large pot. Cover and cook over high heat until water boils. Simmer until meat is tender, about 1 hour. Remove from heat. Strain broth and remove chicken. Cool and shred. Put chicken into zip lock freezer bags, pour 1 cup chicken broth over each bag and freeze. Use in any recipe that calls for cooked cut up chicken. Delicious in soups. Use within 3-6 months.


Chicken Marinade Sherrie Albrecht
1 ½ cups soy sauce
1 ½ cups oil
Garlic salt
3 cups Sprite
3 pounds chicken
Marinate 24 hours. Yummy!

Lemon BBQ Chicken Gail Griffin
2-3 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts
Marinade:
1 cup oil
¾ cup lemon juice
1 tablespoon seasoned salt
2 teaspoons paprika
2 teaspoons onion powder
2 teaspoons basil
2 teaspoons thyme
½ teaspoon garlic powder
Place chicken ziplock bag. Pour mixed marinade over all. Cover and marinate in fridge overnight. Cook slowly over low heat on grill.

Meat Burro Mix Jenn Kartchner
1 5 pound beef roast
1 5 pound pork roast
2 large chopped onions
2 small cans diced green chilies
Beef and chicken bullion cubes
Cook roasts in crock-pot(s). Cool, save drippings, Cut off fat, shred. Add rest of ingredients and cook on stove top until onion is tender. Thicken sauce with flour and water. Salt and pepper to taste. Makes a 5 quart roaster pan full. Freezes very well. Use in tacos, burritos, chili, anything.

A couple of things I've learned the hard way:
1. Label and date everything (everything looks the same when it is frozen)
2. Double bag the liquid marinades and don't overfill
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