Ran out of time to load the crockpot, not in the mood to cook, eating out plans changed last minute? Any of these can cause a supper emergency (or maybe you simply need a shortcut cooking night). You need the unsung hero of the kitchen! Cooked meat in the freezer to the rescue!
I can’t tell you how many times I have punted last minute because I just couldn’t pull it together. But now I know if I have chopped, cooked chicken or browned ground beef in the freezer, I’m ahead of the game when these emergencies arise. Casseroles or skillet dinners are a breeze, and most vegetables really don’t take that long to cook.
Here’s how to get your “rescue” plan in order
Start off by making a list of what recipes you already have that use cooked chicken or browned ground beef. Here’s mine…
These use 2 cups chopped, cooked chicken…
- Chicken Pot Pie,
- Chicken Cornbread Casserole (from a book), and
- Midnight Garden Chicken Casserole.
These use 1 pound of browned, ground beef…
- Jamaican Macaroni,
- Hamburger Fry Pan Supper, and
- Paleo Taco Skillet (from paleogonesassy.com but looks like maybe they moved to Twitter).
I have a few more (some require different amounts of meat), but you get the idea (Note: I’m aware these are not all Whole30 compliant recipes but those are for when we’re not on W30).
The next time you find one of these meats on sale…
- grab a large package or two
- cook it up (I have been known to have the crockpot, instant pot AND oven going to do this!)
- chop the chicken – much easier to do while it’s still warm! (or drain the beef)
- load chicken into quart freezer bags in 2 to 3 cup quantities (or beef in 1 pound increments)
NOTE: Some recipes call for certain weight amounts of chicken. 1 pound of chicken breast meat cooked makes a little more than 2 cups cooked. Based on current size of some chicken breasts, it’s really hard to go by how many breasts a recipe calls for until you’ve made it a couple of times. Easier to convert it to cups or pounds so you always have the right quantity!
Press them out flat and freeze until solid. Then you can store them standing up like “files,” AND they’ll defrost faster because they won’t be as thick. (Thanks for this tip, 5dollardinners.com!) Move a pack to the freezer the night before or simply soak in cold water until thawed (it might be ready when you finish chopping veggies!)
Whether you have a supper emergency or just need a shortcut to get supper going fast, cooked meat in the freezer can rescue your evening!!!
I’d love to see your list of recipes with links…might be good to build a library here so everyone has more options! Until I can get my comment field problems fixed, feel free to reach out via email: missmellie@missmelliecooks.com.
