#4 Always forget to thaw frozen chicken? Do this instead!

Today on the podcast I’m talking all about frozen raw chicken.

The frozen raw chicken problem

AKA the bane of my existence.

I literally can’t count how many times I have gone to make dinner only to discover that (crayaaap…) the chicken is a rock hard block in the freezer still.

So I then begin the twenty minute long process of running water over it which is working at a snail’s pace….or microwaving it in 30 second bursts to get it thaw before cooking it.

This is, of course, if I wasn’t feeling lazy on the day I froze the chicken and that I actually separated the chicken breasts before freezing them.

If you are always forgetting to thaw your frozen raw chicken then this is the solution for you, pre-cook your chicken for fast and easy dinners all week long!

If I didn’t, then I’ve got the giant frozen chicken brick of death and I can send my ideas of a homemade dinner that night straight to club aintnevagonnahappen!

How to avoid the frozen raw chicken problem

While you could decide that you’re never going to forget to thaw your raw chicken again and get hyper-organized in the kitchen…this problem (for me) is one that never seems to go away. So here’s how I combat it.

Unless there is a crazy sale on chicken or I am throwing a super fancy dinner party where I want everything to be 100% fresh and delicious, I don’t let the frozen chicken problem even begin.

How?

By cooking the chicken before it ever hits the freezer.

Why pre-cooked chicken is way more useful than raw chicken in your freezer

Pre-cooking your chicken is a surefire way to insure that you can have dinner on the table in 15-20 minutes every night.

The type of chicken you cook and freeze will act as a springboard for the what’s for dinner question and thawing is easy! Just reheat until warm!

Sure, this won’t work for every dish…but a good chunk of dishes that we make on a regular basis call for pre-cooking the chicken anyway. Grill chicken before adding to a salad, poach chicken before adding it to a soup, you get the picture.

So why not have that step done, and never have to remember to thaw that pesky chicken again?

Here are my favorite 2 recipes for preparing cooked chicken to keep in my freezer for quick meals all week long.

How to meal prep chicken for quick meals all week long

Meal Prep Grilled Chicken (No marinade!)
Slow cooker meal prep shredded chicken

How to use meal prep grilled chicken and meal prep shredded chicken

Meal Prep Grilled Chicken-Goes great in salads, pastas, quesadillas, pitas, wraps,
Meal Prep Shredded Chicken-tastes awesome in chicken salad, soups/strews, hearty dips, casseroles

How long will pre-cooked chicken last in the freezer?

Pre-cooked chicken will last in the freezer for 3-4 months (but trust me…yours will never last this long…once you start making this a habit you’ll be addicted to how fast cooking becomes and you will be grabbing it out for almost every meal!

If you want to learn more about how to rock your meal plan, be sure to check out my free mini-course!