Single-Serving Packets of Joy

Freezer cooking. Its all the rage these days with home cooks. Something restaurants have been doing instinctively for years. Nonetheless, its a fantastic way to eat cheaply, healthy and most importantly EASY.

This post is about tonights venture with freezer cooking. I made two simple types of meals: marinated meat and steam packets. 

For the meat- i literally poured half a bottle of salad dressing (italian or soy sesame vinegarettes) in a gallon size ziplock freezer bag along with a couple of  chicken thigh quarters. Thaw and Bake these at 350 in the oven for 40-45 minutes. Or dump frozen in a slow cooker for 4-6 hours on low. Add some sides and you got dinner for two.

Each of these is two portions of chicken.

I also did some good-ol steam packets. Not a new concept but one that doesn't seem to be used by the home chef all that much. Don't know why, it's super simple! 

Step 1: Make a square of foil big enough for your ingredients. I did about a 12x10piece  of foil, for one serving. Place on 1 serving of chicken. My coupon friend and i went shopping today and she introduced me to an insanely good deal on chicken breast. Its thin cut, but the price per pound was cheaper then even buying whole breast! I'm in awe of this lady's money saving skills!

Anyway...uhhh tangent. Do this with fish too! Its marvelous! 

Step 2: Add frozen veg and seasoning. U can use fresh veg too, here, its all getting frozen anyway. I used a big handful of frozen California Blend that i got at walmart for like 7-8$. I had a Mediterranean seasoning blend that i sprinkled over all. Whatever you have is good though any kind of seasoning blend or, if you want to be fancy, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, parsley, basil, thyme, oregano, mustard powder... I think thats whats all in the one I used. 

Two 1/2" ish pieces of butter... Because.. Butter! Yeesss you can use olive oil too, you yuppies!! 

Step 3: Fold... Freeze. I fold mine like a (badly) wrapped present. Doesn't matter how you fold it, so long as you make sure the juices stay in the packet. Placing in a gallon size ziplock baggie makes em last longer jn the freezer, keeps it from getting burn. Highly advise doing this unless you know youre using it in the next day or two.

Step 4: Cook.  Bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes, until chicken is cooked through. 

If youre doing fish, pop it in the 350 degree oven for 25-30 min till fish is opaque and flakes easily with fork.

Serve with rice or garlic bread, or try slicing it and serving with pasta+some fancy cheese. Nom.