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?
So, question: do you like to plan out your meals for the week or just go with the flow? :)
ReplyDeleteAwesome 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!!
ReplyDeleteI love chicken in wraps and on salads the best!