Meal Kits

Meal kits are a great way to simplify meal preparation throughout the week. When you have the time, preferably as part of your grocery shopping routine, doing some prep work and putting together kits will enable you to put a home cooked meal on the table in minutes. Here is how you do it:

Decide which meal you will create a kit for.
Pull out the recipe and gather all of the necessary ingredients.
Do as much prep work as you can. This might include washing, chopping, combining or pre-cooking ingredients.
Use plastic storage bags to store the ingredients. Use separate bags for anything that cannot be cross-contaminated. Put all of your separate bags into a larger bag to keep them together.
Using a permanent marker, label your kit. You can even write any cooking instructions you may need on the outer storage bag.
Pop your kit into the freezer or refrigerator until you need it.

One of the biggest benefits to creating your own meal kits is that you can have the same kind of convenience you get with packaged foods without all of the chemicals and preservatives.

For ideas, just check out the frozen foods case at your local grocery store. Take a look at those bags containing all of the ingredients that you just dump into a saute pan or crock pot. Chances are you can create your own version with fresh ingredients. You just have to think outside the box a little.

One of the most versatile meals to turn into a kit is stir fry. Simply cut up your favorite meat and veggies and combine your sauce ingredients. On cooking night you can have a delicious meal on the table in minutes.

Here is one of my favorite stir fry meal kit recipes.

Chicken Stir Fry Meal Kit

Ingredients:

1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breast, thinly sliced
1 green bell pepper, thinly sliced
1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
1 small yellow onion, thinly sliced
1 cup button mushrooms, thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 cups fresh baby spinach leaves
1/2 cup spaghetti sauce (your favorite kind)
2 Tblsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 Tblsp. brown sugar
2 Tblsp. red wine
2 cups instant brown rice
1 3/4 cup water
2 Tblsp. extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:

On prep day:

Slice the raw chicken and place the strips into a plastic storage bag. Slice the bell peppers, onion and mushrooms, mince the garlic and place these into one plastic storage bag together. Wash and dry the spinach and put it into a plastic storage bag. Combine the spaghetti sauce, Worcestershire sauce, brown sugar and wine in a storage bag. Place all of the individual storage bags inside one large storage bag. With a permanent marker label your meal kit.

On cooking day:

Bring the water to a boil in a medium pot. Stir in the rice and let the water return to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and let stand an additional five minutes. Fluff the rice before serving.

Meanwhile, heat the extra virgin olive in a large, deep skillet over medium heat. Brown the chicken and remove it from the pan. Add the veggies and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 5 minutes or until desired crispness. Add the spinach leaves and cook until wilted, about 2 to 3 minutes. Add the sauce and heat through. Add the chicken back to the pan. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Serve over rice and enjoy.

The Hot Spot

Subscribe to The Monthly Organizer