MEAL KIT: Chicken

Meal kits, what are meal kits?  They are partially made meals you prepare ahead of time.  What makes these different from freezer meals is the meat and veggies are chopped.  There is no sauce or seasonings included in your bag so that you can use the kit for what you want on cooking day.  These are good things to have in the freezer so you can tame a craving and aren't 100% committed to a certain meal.

A meal kit you can often find in my freezer:

Dicey Chicken
2 lbs. diced chicken meat (this is for my family of 4 eaters and leftovers)
1 small diced onion
1 small diced bell pepper
Put diced chicken in one quart/gallon size baggie
Place diced veggies in another quart baggie
Place both baggies in a large gallon baggie and in the freezer.

With this meal kit you have alot of options!
Saute chicken and vegetables in 2 Tbsp. of olive oil and salt and pepper (to taste)
Prepared sauces you can add and simmer for 5 minutes to make your meal:
Sweet and sour sauce
Teriyaki sauce
Serve above with rice

CHICKEN STEW with DUMPLINGS
Add a "Dicey Chicken" meal kit to a soup pot, saute with 1 tbsp of olive oil and 1 tbsp for about 3-5 minutes.
Add 8 c. of chicken broth
Add 8oz sliced fresh mushrooms
Bring to a boil

To make dumplings:
1 c. flour
1 1/2tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tbsp. parsley flakes
1/4tsp salt and pepper
1/2 c. buttermilk
1 tbsp olive oil
Stir with a fork until mixture combines.
*We enjoy large dumplings so add above mixture in golf ball size drops (I use an ice cream scoop) to boiling broth.  When done adding dumplings, cover with lid for 5 minutes (no peeking) until dumplings puff and are cooked through!

We enjoy using the above dumpling recipe with a "DICEY BEEF" kit as well.  Prepare as above but add diced rump or arm roast instead of chicken and beef broth (I like using larger dices when I have beef, 3inch by 3inch).  When I make the beef stew I allow it to simmer on low (before adding the dumplings) for about 3-5 hours to be sure beef is super tender.

When we make a "stew" with the DICEY BEEF meal kit we use beef broth, can of golden mushroom soup (makes it so hearty and taste so slow cooked).