Chicken dump dinner is in the bag
We’re all very well aware it’s the holiday season. Food magazines, TV and newspapers are in a frenzy to offer special-occasion recipes as the clock ticks down to Dec. 31, from pretty pies and cute cookies to snazzy appetizers and tempting roasts.
But what about the everyday meals you still have to prepare? It may be fun to decorate cookies in the kitchen on a Sunday afternoon, but you still have to feed people when they come home from school and work.
So, let’s experiment with a totally workable and easy way to have the freezer full of bags of chicken entrees. It’s an idea I swiped from online and it has a terrible name: chicken dump dinners.
These are no-brainer recipes and you can make them in bulk, or not. Basically, you take a plastic 1-gallon freezer bag, add some boneless, skinless chicken, a couple ingredients, squish it around to mix it up, then freeze it. When you need it, you can pull it out and stick it in the slow cooker or oven.
There’s no prep time to any of this. You just dump it all in the bag!
Make a couple bags, or as many as you want. Details on how to put the meals together and three cooking methods are in sidebars here. Tablespoon.com is a great resource, though if you go to Google and type in chicken dump dinners, all kinds of recipes will pop up.
One online blogger with a family said it took her 30 minutes to prep 15 meals.
Please note that three of the recipes start with 10 pounds of chicken, with 2 pounds each in a bag. Cut that amount and the other ingredients in half and make 5 bags instead if you want.
Some recipes say you can shred the meat after it’s cooked, but it isn’t necessary unless you want some pulled chicken for dinner or a meat stuffing for tacos.
Also, the recipes are really just the ingredients, though a few are more specific about how to cook. Refer to the sidebar on how to make them and adjust according to your family.
How to make chicken dump meals
1. Label resealable freezer bags (you can use a permanent marker or print labels to stick on) with the name and cooking instructions.
2. Prop the bottom of the bags and fold over the top so that they will stay open. (A wide-mouth, half-gallon mason jar works well.)
3. Add chicken to each bag, usually 2 pounds per bag. You can use boneless, skinless thighs or breasts. (The recipes work best with 4-6 chicken breasts, depending on size and weight, or 8 to 10 tenders or 8-10 thighs per bag. If you are adding a lot more or a lot less chicken, you may need to adjust the recipes accordingly.)
4. Once the chicken is in all of the bags, dump the rest of the ingredients into the bag. Rub bags to move ingredients around and evenly distribute.
Remove excess air, seal the bags, lay flat and freeze.
3 cooking options
1. Thaw chicken. Pour chicken and marinade from bag into a baking dish, turn chicken to coat. Bake at 350 degrees 35 minutes.
2. Thaw and grill in a cast-iron skillet on the stove, or outside on the barbecue grill, until no longer pink inside.
3. Place the frozen chicken in the slow cooker and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours or high for 4 to 6 hours.
Mexican Chicken
10 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts
5 packets taco seasoning
5 packets ranch seasoning
5 (14.5 ounce) cans fire-roasted diced tomatoes
5 gallon-sized zip-top freezer bags
Divide everything between the 5 bags and just toss it all in, chicken first.
After cooking, you can shred with a fork, and make tacos. Or serve the chicken over tortilla chips. Or use it as a filling in burritos.
Philly Chicken
10 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts
5 green bell peppers
5 red bell peppers
3 onions
3 tablespoons seasoned salt
5 gallon-sized zip-top freezer bags
Slice your peppers and onions into thin strips. Divide everything evenly among the bags, seal, freeze, and forget about it until you’re ready to cook.
Maple Dijon Chicken
10 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 2/3 cup Dijon mustard
1 1/4 cups maple syrup
5 gallon-sized zip-top freezer bags
Dump everything evenly between the bags, seal, and refrigerate or freeze.
Chicken Hurry
3 to 5 boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs
1/2 cup ketchup
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
3 tablespoons dry onion soup mix
Combine and freeze in labeled freezer plastic bag.
When ready to use, thaw. Bake at 350 degrees for an hour or in the Crock-pot on low for 4-6 hours.
Caribbean Chicken
3 to 5 boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs
8-ounce can pineapple chunks with juice
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/3 cup orange juice
1/2 cup raisins
Combine and freeze in labeled freezer plastic bag.
When ready to use, thaw. Bake at 350 degrees for an hour or in the Crock-pot on low for 4-6 hours.
Sticky Chicken
3 to 5 boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 tablespoon soy sauce
3 tablespoons peanut butter
3 tablespoons ketchup
Combine and freeze in labeled freezer plastic bag.
When ready to use, thaw. Bake at 350 degrees for 45-55 minutes.
This story was originally published November 30, 2015 at 5:42 AM with the headline "Chicken dump dinner is in the bag."