Out of the Frying Pan....

This week oone of the local grocery stores had a really really good sale on boneless chicken breast tenders. Usually I don't buy these puppies because they are way to expensive, but they were a great buy, so I had 5 lbs of them sitting in the kitchen! And we weren't about to eat 5 lbs in one week either. So here's what I did with them: (You can use childen breast tender, boneless breasts sliced into tenders or boneless thighs sliced into tenders. You could also use slivers of turkey breast or thighs if you like.)

First, divide the meat into one lb. increments. Then pull out two skillets (with lids if possible) and put them on the stove. (Doing more than 2 at a time is more than I can keep up with! But you can do three or four skillets at once if they'll fit on your stove.) Add a little oil to the skillet and turn the heat up to medium high.

When the pan is hot, add in a pound of chicken. Stir frequently and cook the meat until it begins to brown. Then turn off the heat(if using electric heat, turn it to low if using gas heat) and add one of the following to the pan:

• BBQ sauce
• Sweet and Sour Sauce
• Cream of Mushroom soup, condensed
• Cream of Chicken Soup, condensed
• Sesame-Ginger marinade/sauce
• Honey Dijon salad dressing
• Raspberry Vinegrette Salad dressing
• Lime-garlic marinade/sauce
• Enchillada sauce
• Tomatillo (green enchillada) sauce
• Spaghetti Sauce
• Your favorite sauce, avoid alfredo sauces though, they don't freeze very well
  

Cover the pan and let set 3-5 minutes, the sauce should come to a simmer.

Then, transfer the cooked chicken into a freezer container or a dish for further cooling. Give the skillet a quick rinse and wipe down and put it back on the stove for another round.

I got all five meals done in about half an hour.

When you reheat the chicken, you can add some frozen veggies that fit the sauce if you want. You could also add the veggies into the freezer bag before you put it in the freezer. If you do that though, make sure the chicken is cooled before you add the veggies. Otherwise, the veggies will thaw completely before you freeze the meal and , well, it just makes them yucky on reheating.

These are all good served over your favorite carbs--rice, noodles, tortillas, biscuits, potatoes, what ever you like.