1.14.2015

Easy & Delicious Now, Easy & Delicious Later



In keeping with my resolution, I have gone to bed much earlier than before! I think it has been lights out before 10:30pm every night since and although I would like that time to be 10pm, it is a start.

I have also fiddled around with the idea of freezer meals. One of the best things about our new house design is we are going to have a full size freezer right next to a full size refrigerator. This will mean SO MUCH MORE space to plan and prepare fresh meals! Here is one below that I love! I just tried it out last week and will definitely be doing it again.

Southwestern Crockpot Chicken Burritos (Fresh & Freezer)


What you need:
  1. Boneless skinless chicken of preference. I bought a bag of frozen breasts that were on sale. Simple as that.
  2. Cans of whatever you like, I used 1 jar of salsa (medium heat), 2 cans tomatoes with chilies, 1 can mexicorn,  and 2 cans black beans. You can add or subtract from this depending on how much chicken you are using and your preferences.
  3. Spices, you can use spice packets, but I just added garlic, chili powder, cayenne pepper, salt, powdered onion, and lots of cumin. Spice to your taste and you can add more at the end of the cooking time if you want/need.
  4. Burrito shells (about 15-20)
  5. Shredded cheese
  6. Sour cream if you like it, which I do.
What you do:
  1. Add the chicken to the crockpot (I added mine straight from the bag while frozen) and everything else on top and stir all together, coating chicken. Cook on low and if possible, stir every few hours for about 8 hours total. When done, chicken should shred easily, which is the next step.
  2. Shred chicken. See? I wasn't kidding. 
  3. Now, fill all burrito shells with the mixture, add cheese, and fold. You can eat some now, but I wrapped most of mine up individually in foil for later.
  4. Then place all foil wrapped burritos in large ziplock bags and put them in the freezer. 
  5. Grab one in the morning and it should be thawed by lunch ***SEE UPDATE BELOW***. I take the foil off (duh), cut mine up on a plate, pop it in the microwave for a minute, add some sour cream, and voila! You have about 15 lunches ready to go at a moments' notice.
UPDATE: After cooking one from frozen, it tasted MUCH better than thawing it first. I defrosted it in the microwave on the "casserole setting" for about 3 minutes and then heated it on high to my liking, about another minute... the tortillas tasted much better and less soggy than it had before when I let it thaw out in the fridge first. I will be cooking these straight from the freezer from now on!

From Charleston, South Carolina to your computer. I hope you enjoy. :)