Triple Citrus Chicken and More!

I know that it's been awhile since I've last blogged. Several reasons: Numero Uno- I haven't cooked a creative meal in quite awhile- the holidays just sidelined those plans; dos, December brought about quite a stressful month with the holidays, some minor family issues and us with our second round of fertility treatment. And last; the treatment WORKED! We're expecting our first baby in the beginning of September..... needless to say, the idea of eating is not appealing whatsoever; hence cooking has pretty much gone out the window! Well, now that I'm approaching the end of my first trimester, my appetite is slowly coming back, and I actually cooked something that resembles dinner twice this week. Since I have been living off of cereal and fruit smoothies for the past few months, I guess I could've posted a few blender recipes.....
and my dear husband has been quite the microwave dinner gourmet chef!

We ventured out today to get some supplies to hunker down for tomorrow's rainy day, and came across quite a steal at Sam's Club: 6lbs. of fresh chicken breasts on 'clearance' for just $6.88 a package. We bought three packages- who can pass up a deal like that! And with a modern convenience such as a freezer (albeit packed with Lean Cuisine's), it's a great investment. Now to really make this a good deal, you have to take the time to repackage the chicken. Armed with a Sharpie, resealable baggies and a few marinades, you can create a few easy dinners in about 30 minutes. I repackaged one package just on its own with two breasts per sandwich-sized bag, and then put several in another larger size bag that is labeled with the contents and date- it helps to alleviate 'mystery meat' guesses later on! Plus these are perfect to just grab and defrost quickly- great for throwing on the barbeque or under the broiler!

I also took several bottles of store-bought marinade and put into a bag (don't forget to label and double bag!)- when you defrost these, they will be premarinated and will be delicious. If you have unexpected company coming, they'll never know you didn't actually take the time to marinate it just for them! I also took a few minutes to make a few other marinades:
Tequila Lime, Triple Citrus and Ultimate Chicken. They are all simple and inexpensive.

Tequila Lime: zest and juice one lime, add 1/3 cup of tequila, pepper, one pressed garlic clove, a dash of olive or canola oil, pepper and a dash of southwest-style seasoning- don't add any salt to your marinades in advance- the salt actually drys out the meat. Add to a baggie with 3-4 chicken breasts. You can add salt to taste once your meats are mostly cooked. When you are ready to use, thaw and grill or cook to your hearts content.

Ultimate Chicken: Now this is more of a rub- into a large ziptop freezer bag, add the following: 1/4 cup of paprika, 4 tablespoons of the following: dried parsley, onion powder, italian seasoning, lemon pepper. Add a sprinkle of poultry seasoning, and 1-2 cloves of crushed/ pressed garlic. Add a few tablespoons of water and a little oil to make it into a paste-like mixture. Add a few chicken breasts to the bag and rub the paste into the chicken- double bag, label and freeze until you need to use!

Triple Citrus Marinade: zest and juice one lemon, one orange and one lime. Add 2 tablespoons of italian seasoning, lemon pepper, 1-2 cloves of freshly chopped/ pressed garlic, and a dash of olive oil. Mix in a bag- add a few chicken breasts and freeze.

I hope that you enjoy these recipes!