Quick, Delicious Meals Can Be Found Hiding In Your Home Freezer
There are times when you just don’t feel like cutting up cauliflower, breading chicken, or making a pie. But it is dinner time, so in the interest of a hungry family, you buy a frozen meal.
Frozen foods are featured in supermarkets this month to emphasize their economics, nutrition and variety. The industry wants you to be aware of frozen foods, and why not?
Frozen foods have certainly changed from the early days of TV dinners. Those aluminum trays have been replaced with different materials, including plastic plates you can collect and use over and over.
At my house, when I’m stuck for a dinner idea and I’m too tired to go to the store, the hunt starts with the chest freezer. Discovering a package of food that can be fixed and served in a reasonable amount of time is like finding gold.
Try to keep both lean ground beef and boneless chicken breasts stocked in the freezer. Everyone’s got favorite standby recipes for these meats that will make meals in minutes.
You can prepare Quick Spicy Skillet Chicken using chicken breast strips, a package of frozen pasta and vegetables, spicy chili beans and a sprinkling of cheese. (Just remember that chili beans, found with the canned vegetables, are not the same thing as chili with beans, which includes meat. There’s a big difference in calories, fat, cholesterol and sodium.)
The next time you want something to eat fast, think frozen.
Quick Spicy Skillet Chicken
Adapted from a recipe by The National Frozen Food Association Inc.
1 tablespoon oil
1 pound stir-fry chicken breast strips
1 package (16 ounces) frozen pasta, broccoli, corn and carrots in a garlic seasoned sauce
1 can (15 ounces) spicy chili beans
1/2 cup shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
Heat oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken; cook and stir until no longer pink, 2 to 3 minutes.
Add pasta/vegetables mixture and chili beans; bring to a boil; stir. Reduce heat; cover and simmer 4 to 6 minutes or until vegetables are crisp-tender. Remove from heat. Sprinkle top with cheese. Cover. Let stand 1 to 2 minutes until cheese is melted.
Yield: 4 servings.
Nutrition information per serving: 346 calories, 32 grams protein, 26 grams carbohydrate, 8 grams fiber, 12 grams fat (31 percent fat calories), 80 milligrams cholesterol, 560 milligrams sodium.
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