Four Weeks To Fill Your Freezer: Chicken Breasts

Heading into the 2nd week of Crystal's freezer cooking challenge, here's a quick recap of what's made its way into my freezer so far!

• Crustless Spinach Quiche
• Cooked Lentils and Millet
• Split Pea Soup, Ham and Broccoli Casserole and Pina Colada Pops

Counting a few freezer meals I already had in the freezer prior to beginning this challenge, I now have 12 main dishes at the ready. This not counting a few sides and meal components such as cooked ground beef and the above mentioned lentils and millet. My goal is to have around 24 frozen meals by the end of May. This would have us set for a couple of weeks worth of dinners plus some lunches during our move.

Honestly, I haven't really made a plan going into this challenge. Instead, I've been going by what's available to cook as I dig through the freezer and pantry and what I find on sale at the grocery store!

I purchased a couple big trays of split chicken breasts last week which were the inspiration for today's freezer cooking session. Split chicken breasts go on sale for $.99 a pound often in my area and I've discovered that with just a knife and a few minutes of time, I can quickly cut them into boneless skinless chicken breasts and tenders myself. This saves a lot of money and I get a lot more meat for my dollar as well.

I started with cutting the chicken off the bone, going ahead and throwing the meaty bones right into the crockpot to cook the meat and make broth. I put the chicken tenders in a baking dish and covered them with BBQ sauce for tonight's dinner.

From the 2 trays of meat, I got 8 chicken breasts. It didn't take long to prepare them for freezing:

• 2-Mexican Chicken Skillet meals: Each kit included 2 cubed chicken breasts and chopped onion and green peppers. I bagged the chicken and veggies separately then put them together into a gallon bag. Fajita kits can also be made with this same  concept.
• 1- Israeli Spice Chicken: 2 breasts coated with Israeli seasoning blend and placed in a zipper bag ready for grilling or to be cooked in a pan.
• 2- Cubed Chicken Breasts: 1 cubed chicken breast in a bag. perfect for throwing into stir fries!

Plus I have a bowl of broth and 4 cups of chopped chicken from cooking the meaty bones!  Don't be surprised if the chicken finds its way into some other freezer sessions!

**Read more about the 4 Weeks To Fill Your Freezer Challenge and join in at Money Saving Mom!