Frozen Headache

I find that one of the most annoying and time consuming steps of cooking is defrosting the meat. I hate to defrost in the microwave because if left unattended, parts of it can get cooked. Defrosting in the fridge or on the counter can take all day and only works when you have your meal pre-planned.

Although any meal requires some type of pre-planning, here are some things you can do to speed up the process and avoid having many steps to do all at once.

When I buy meat from the halal market, I order about 40 chicken legs and thighs, for a total of 80 pieces of legs and thighs separated. I marinate the chicken in four different marinades, twenty pieces each. You can try Shaan tandoori chicken, BBQ sauce, Asian style sweet and sour sauce, and lemon pepper. Do this over the weekend and stick them in the freezer, and save them for when you may need to fix dinner last minute. I live in a household with four adults, so if its just you and the hubby, you only need to freeze 10 pieces of chicken in each bag.

During the week, take out a bag of chicken and place in the fridge for thawing the night before or the morning of (Chicken doesn't defrost fast enough in my fridge so I keep it out on the counter in a large bowl during the day). When you get home from work, pre-heat the oven to 320 and bake chicken for 1 hour in a baking pan or tray. Roasted potatoes or loose corn and brown rice go great as sides.

I also separate and freeze smoked turkey slices for sandwiches for lunch. Put slices into little zip-lock bags with two slices each (for the husband and I) as well as some bags with 3 slices each (in case I need it for a third person). This way I don't have to defrost the entire stock of turkey just to make two sandwiches. All I have to do is pull out one zip-lock bag and sit in on the counter for 15 minutes and sandwiches are ready to be made! I toast the bread when making sandwiches the night before so that they don't become soggy by the time lunch rolls around the next day.