Monday, March 14, 2011

Setting Yourself Up for Success



My husband is home from his two week trip... and so is my camera! Woo hoo! So hopefully I'll have some posts with pics of real food this week ;)

In the meantime, lets talk chicken. Chicken is one of those foods that can provide you with some muscle-building protein without a whole lot of fat or work, for that matter. I've been trying to incorporate more protein in my diet and chicken is my new best friend. BUT I'm a busy lady and I don't have time to be cooking up chicken every night. So I thought I'd take this opportunity to give you some ideas of how to cook chicken ahead of time. I buy frozen chicken breasts at GFS so I always have good uniform sized chicken breasts ready to go.

BAKED CHICKEN
Thaw chicken breasts and add Italian dressing for marinade. After marinading in the fridge for 2-3 hours, place chicken breasts in a single layer on a 9x13 pan. Grind fresh pepper and sprinkle garlic powder lightly over top of chicken breasts. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 45 minutes.


GRILLED CHICKEN

Thaw chicken breasts and add Italian dressing for marinade. After marinading in the fridge for 2-3 hours, heat grill to medium heat. Brush grill grate with olive oil to prevent sticking. Place chicken breasts on grate in a single layer. Cook for 4-5 minutes then flip. Cook on second side for 3-4 minutes or until heated through.


CROCK POT

Place frozen chicken breasts in crock pot with 1/4 cup water. Grind fresh black pepper over the top. Sprinkle with garlic powder. Place lid on crock pot and cook on low 4-6 hours or high 3-4 hours.


BOIL (not my favorite, but fast)

Boil water. Add thawed chicken breasts for 8-10 minutes or until heated through.


Last night we had baked chicken (option #1) for dinner. Instead of cooking up 2 or 3 breasts I cooked 6. I put the remaining chicken breasts in a tupperware container in the fridge for future use.


Here are some ways to use your precooked chicken breasts:
  • Cut up on top of a salad or bed of spinach for lunch.
  • Chop and make chicken salad.
  • Cut up and use in a wrap.
  • Shred to use as a filling in enchiladas or tacos.

How would you use precooked chicken?

2 comments:

  1. So, question: do you like to plan out your meals for the week or just go with the flow? :)

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  2. Awesome tips! I am in love with the crock pot. The less i have to touch the chicken the better. I also hate boiling chicken. It's the smell that gets to me!!
    I love chicken in wraps and on salads the best!

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