Easy Peasy!

In case you didn't know, I love to cook! But, sometimes after a 10 hour day, which happens more than I would like, cooking is the last thing on my mind. I like to have things in the freezer that make throwing a quick meal together, well easy peasy.

The next time you are grilling, put some boneless, skinless chicken thighs on the grill. Once done let them rest until cool, slice and *freeze them on a cookie sheet. Once frozen, remove them from the cookie sheet and put them in a ziptop bag and place in the freezer. You now have the perfect quick and easy protein for chicken tacos, stir fry, pasta, etc.

You may be asking why freeze them on a cookie sheet? Excellent question and one I know the answer to after throwing them in the ziptop bag before the were frozen. They freeze in a clump. Freezing them in a single layer on a cookie sheet allows you to pull out the amount needed and really keeps the reheating process short and sweet.

Another great easy, peasy recipe is crock pot rice. I love short grain brown rice. It is delicious and nutritious but it takes a little while longer to cook- 45 minutes vs. 20 minutes. So it definitely does not lend itself to a quick supper. I make a large batch in the crock pot and freeze it. You can also use this recipe for long grain brown rice and white rice.

The recipe is simple:

2 c short grain brown rice
3 1/2 c of water or broth (I use water since I like a more "neutral" taste.)
1 1/2 tsp of salt
Olive oil or non-stick spray to grease the crock pot.

Grease your crock pot to prevent sticking. Put all ingredients in the crock pot and cook on high for 2- 2 1/2 hours.

You may have noticed that the water to rice ratio is not the normal 2 to 1, 2 cups of water/broth to 1 cup of rice. I prefer my rice more al dente. Since there is very little evaporation in the crock pot, I decreased the liquid amount.

As you can see from my handwritten recipe, I start checking for doneness at 1 1/2 hours. This is one of the few times it is okay to lift the crock pot lid.

Once the rice is done, I spread the rice on a parchment lined cookie sheet so that it is a single layer of rice. and place it in the freezer until the rice is frozen. Once frozen, you can place the rice in smaller "single-serving" ziptop bags or larger family size. Same clump rule applies here. If you put in the bag and place it straight in the freezer, you will have a big clump of rice. Freezing it on the cookie sheet allows you to use what you need and keeps the reheating process short and sweet.

Enjoy!
j