It took me two entire mornings to prep these freezer meals. It was a lot of standing at the stove, but I'm happy to have so many meals prepared. Below is a Tandori marinade I used with spices I had on hand.
2 pounds chicken quarters or a mix of thighs and drumsticks
1 inch ginger, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup plain yogurt
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon of ground nutmeg
Combine all the spices with the oil and yogurt and mix very well. Add the marinade to the chicken, coating well, and let it marinate for a few hours. Then bake the chicken at 375掳F until thoroughly cooked.
I had enough marinade to do three different meals. One for that night's dinner, and the rest went into the freezer.
Up next, I had two family-sized packages of chicken breasts to do. It took a while to trim off excess fat and slice the breasts into thin pieces. Then I pounded each slice to make cutlets for Chicken Parmesan, Cordon Bleu, and Chicken French.
Four Chicken Parmesan.
Five Chicken Cordon Bleu.
I made a sauce for the Cordon Bleu and put enough for each meal into 1/2 pint mason jars and froze them, too.
Four Chicken French.
After dipping the cutlets into egg, then flour, I let them rest while preparing the sauce.
Chicken French is probably one of my favorites, and it freezes so nicely. Making large batches at a time really pays off. Plus, cleanup is easier when I do marathon cooking.
Can you smell the lemony sauce? It smells divine.
Three meals for the freezer and one shared with a neighbor for his dinner. He was so happy with a homemade meal.
Altogether, I put 15 meals into the freezer by prepping the chicken one morning and frying the cutlets the second day. It will be a huge help to have meals on hand when I have to take care of my hubby when he has shoulder surgery soon.
There will be more meals to prepare, but I'm taking a break and playing in the garden this week.
