Remember this roasted chicken? Well as delicious as it was, it took a decent amount of time to prep and bake. Don't get me wrong, it was totally worth it, but there are a lot of nights that by the time I get home from work and (hopefully) the gym, a whole roasted chicken means we won't be eating until way past normal dinner time.
So for those nights when a quick-to-the-table meal is key, here are a couple cheater (but cheaper and healthier than fast food or take out) ideas:
1) Don't overlook the value of a rotisserie chicken from the deli section of your grocery store. At our local grocery store a rotisserie chicken is only $4.99 (when you use your Kroger card). The most recent whole frozen chicken I bought was $4.69, however, it was also a little bigger then a deli rotisserie chicken. So while it is slightly cheaper (and I will admit, tastier) to buy and roast your own chicken, you really can't beat the time saving value of a rotisserie chicken. One rotisserie chicken is usually good for at least two, and occasionally three, meals. The first night we eat the chicken with veggies and rice or potatoes. I shred the rest of the chicken and refrigerate or freeze for later use. Our favorite uses for the leftover shredded chicken are chicken tacos, chicken vegetable soup, and chicken fettuccine alfredo.
2) Frozen veggies are great for quick dinners. Especially the Simply Steamer (Green Giant) veggies. These were on sale recently, and I had a coupon, so I figured we might as well try them. They were really great -- tasted fresh and had a nice consistency, not at all mushy! At $1.99/package (without a coupon) it's enough for 3-4 servings and they are ready to go in less then 5 minutes. Our favorite so far: sugar snap peas (in the shell).
3) Double or triple your recipe and freeze the extra. Sometimes it seems like too much work to make just two servings of something. Twice baked potatoes for example -- once you get the process going, it takes very little extra effort or time to make eight instead of two. So make a big batch and freeze the extras -- instant homemade side to go with your rotisserie chicken. Twice baked potatoes can be reheated in the oven for about an hour, or in the microwave until just heated through (these are less on the healthy side and more on the delicious side).
4) Speaking of freezing, homemade sauce reheats really well when you freeze it in ice cube trays. Whenever I make tomato (haven't tried this recipe yet but it looks so good!) or alfredo sauce I double the recipe and freeze all but two servings in ice cube trays. The "sauce cubes" reheat really quickly because you aren't trying to melt down a frozen solid, brick size, lump of sauce. Six or seven cubes are usually plenty for two people. You can reheat the tomato sauce in the microwave or on low heat on the stove. However, only reheat alfredo sauce on the stove because the sauce will separate in the microwave. As the alfredo cubes start to melt, add milk as needed to thin the sauce (otherwise it will be very thick). Your previously frozen homemade sauce will be ready by the time you get the pasta cooked -- ta da -- dinner in 10 minutes.
5) I'm a big believer in meal planners like this. The easiest way I have found to get dinner ready quickly, is to know ahead of time what I plan to make and have the ingredients already purchased (harder then it sounds -- I can't count the number of times I *think* I have everything I need only to find that I forgot some key component).
Example
Monday: Rotisserie chicken with frozen veggies and previously made twice baked potatoes
Tuesday: Chicken tacos (using leftover chicken from Monday)
Wednesday: Spaghetti with homemade (frozen) tomato sauce
Thursday: Chicken salad sandwiches (using rest of leftover rotisserie chicken)
Friday: PIZZA! Take out, not homemade, everybody needs a break. :)
Weekend: Leftovers or crock pot soup
I find that we waste a lot less food (and save more money!) when I plan ahead to use up leftovers in other recipes.
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