Lazy Homemaker

In preparation for a busy season I cubed up a pork roast and cooked it in my slow cooker then bagged it up in two cup portions. Then when I need it I can use it to make Oriental Pork or Pork Stew. Now I’m doing hamburger I got on sale this week the same way. It takes about 5 minutes to put something in, hours of hanging out on the computer while it cooks, then 5 minutes to bag it up. Very lazy. Tomorrow I’ll do chicken and a turkey I got very inexpensively on sale. That takes longer to deal with because of taking the meat off the bones. I will chop some, slice some and make Chicken Starter with some.

Chicken Starter is a recipe that was inspired by another recipe. I just changed the seasonings a bit for my taste. It's really handy to have in the freezer. A bag, a couple of cans of vegetable stock and some noodles or rice makes a REALLY fast soup that is homemade and delicious.

Chicken Starter
4 - 5 cups cubed cooked chicken
4 ounces butter
8 tablespoons flour
4 cups chicken stock and vegetable stock (I use half and half or more veg then chicken)
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon thyme

In a large saucepan melt butter over medium heat until bubbling but not browning. Whisk in flour and cook for 5 minutes, stirring continuously. Slowly stir in chicken stock until well blended. Add spices and cook until mixture thickens, stirring constantly. Stir in chicken. Ladle 2 cup portions of mixture into freezer bags and seal. Freeze.

Use to make -
Chicken Pot Pie: Add diced carrots and peas, bake under pastry crust.
Chicken and Dumplings: Add vegetable or chicken stock, simmer, drop on dumpling dough, cover and cook.
Chicken a la King: Add sliced mushrooms, simmer. Serve over toast or in puff pastry shells
Chicken Enchiladas
Other ideas: Use in crepes, pastry pockets, over rice, add noodles for soup etc.

The“convenience” of precooked meat in the freezer makes dinner prep much faster. It's very praiseworthy.