Our family is not often in the house, we are mostly outside. We usually get into the house when everyone is hungry, or even hangery. So we need to get supper on immediately. We could have store bought lasagnas that I remember to pop into the oven at 4p… but honestly that would never happen. I am far too “creative” for that.
How do we cook at home in ten minutes? The honest answer is that batch cook meat and freeze it, then I have a few easy meals that are always 5 minutes away. I got this tip from Dana K White of A Slob Come Clean – visit her HERE. You will love her – I know it!
PRECOOKED MEAT
This is the number one quickest help for me to cook at home is to batch cook meat. A few weeks ago we were out of frozen, precooked meat and we decided to eat out multiple times. We are again convinced that precooking our meat is a really important part of how we continually cook at home. At the end I have a quick recipe that uses frozen foods. Between here and there – instructions on how to cook and freeze meat.
SHREDDED (CHICKEN)
Start with a large package of chicken, bones in or out. Put it all in a slow cooker with a half cup of water at the bottom. Sprinkle minced dried garlic and minced dried onion, salt and pepper on each layer. After about 8 hours take the chicken out of the slow cooker and let it cool on a sheet pan.
We like to save the broth has come off the chicken along with the chicken bones. Chunk down the chicken breasts a bit, we prefer chicken shreds less than 2 inches long. This is the game changer – put the chicken into a mixer with the paddle attachment. Turn the mixer on and let it go for a minute or two – until it’s the right amount of shredded.
The shredded chicken can either be used or goes into quart freezer bags probably around 2 cups in each one. It’s enough for chicken tacos for our family. We use half a bag in a chicken vegetable soup. Ideas would be anything with chicken, like tacos, soup, pasta, curry, fried rice or a pot pie. It’s okay to replace “diced chicken” with shredded chicken in most recipes. HERE is a slow cooker chicken taco filling recipe that we make for supper, especially in the summer. It is easy and tasty.
Try this with anything that will end up shredded, like pork or a beef roast.
GROUND (BEEF)
Start with five pounds of meat, two diced onions and a heaping tablespoon of minced garlic. Fry that up. Let it cool on a sheet pan, preferably in the fridge so that you don’t need to worry about disease. Divide the meat into quart freeze bags, label and stack flat in the freezer to be used at another time. Any ground pork, sausage or turkey can work the same. Labeling the bags is a good idea because ground sausage and beef look so super similar when they are frozen.
BACON
Put a bunch on a sheet pan at 350 degree in the oven. Let it sizzle until it the right amount of crispy. Take it off the pan and let it set on a paper towel and soak up the grease. Save the grease for eggs or veggies. Store the bacon it in the fridge or freezer. Some folks tell me to use a cooling rack inside the sheet pan. Love the idea – even the results for the bacon. That cooling rack though, it sat in my sink for a week waiting to be cleaned. So I just put it straight on the baking sheet now.
BEANS
Beans are not meat, correct.
We have been buying dry beans. I can’t get myself to plan ahead long enough to get beans ready for any meal… so I make them ahead. Soak them over night, cook them slow on the stove or in a slow cooker on the counter. Let them cool to room temperature and then put them in bags put them in the fridge or the freezer. They’re ready to go when you need some and they get ready nearly as quickly as canned beans.
OTHER
I also have frozen diced vegetables for soups and casseroles – they aren’t great in salad once they have been frozen. Also, strawberries that need to get processed but you are heading out of two for a wedding can be diced and frozen. Frozen strawberries into jam is better than rotten strawberries in the fridge.
For better results in texture after freezing, blanche carrots and other vegetables first.
We also freeze shredded cheese that we buy large quantities. The shredded cheese comes out of the freezer exactly like it went in… honest. We do it on a regular basis.
Batch prepare lunch sides. We do the following – carrot sticks, apple slices, peeled oranges. Cut up cheese blocks in to sticks and pick grapes off the vine. Then it only takes me 5 minutes to get lunches ready. This happens when we worked or played too long outside during the morning and still want to cook at home.
THAW
How long does it take to get a bag of meat thawed out – not long at all. You can also just run those under hot water. Warm it up in the microwave or put them in a frying pan. Add in anything else for the meal and you have dinner lickety-split.
EASY MEAL: Stir fry
Frozen, precooked shredded chicken
Frozen or Fresh veggies: carrots, celery, peas, broccoli or a stir fry mix
Rice (Try it made with chicken broth, not water)
Sauce: Sweet Chili Sauce, Homemade Peanut Sauce or simply soy sauce and honey
Quickly heat everything through while the rice fluffs.
It is really, really that simple. I promise you that it is as quick to cook at home as driving to Panda Express for a Stir Fry Bowl and it will be much more healthy. It might take a couple times to come up with the perfect sauce. Let that might be part of the fun.
EASY MEAL TWO: TACOS
This picture is the result of make a double batch of taco filling. We ended up eating this a week or two after putting it in the freezer. Our tacos/nachos were ready in less than ten minutes the second night. Click the link for the full post.
I want to propose that even if you make simple meals when you cook at home, those meals will fill up the family better than fast food – while also being healthier – even when you use frozen and canned foods. The reason is that you control how much fat, salt and sugar you put in your food. Not to mention controlling the sides, drinks and toppings. You also get to control the portion size so you can contribute to reducing waste, as well.
Q & A
Can I leave out the onions? Yes – always yes. Onions are nothing but flavor. If you don’t like the flavor, leave it out.
What do you say about the same meal all day or eating pizza every day of the week? Eating the same food for every meal, every day of the week would not be a balanced diet. Pizza at lunch every day this week will keep you and your kids alive. Try adding carrot and apple on the side. Of course, this is not professional or medical advice. Please consult your doctor or registered dietitian if you need professional assistance.
Additionally, if you don’t have finances for food, check with you local public library, police department or churches. They should be able to help you find local resources.
