I was wanting to talk a bit today about bulk cooking. Bulk cooking scares or intimidates a lot of people but once you start doing some bulk cooking, you'll love it. It saves time and money. I also like the convenience. If I am not feeling well or if someone has a death in the family, I can always pull something out of the deep freeze for them.
Today, I had planned on making meatloaf for lunch. Instead, I made 2 meatloaves. One for our lunch and then I double wrapped the other one in foil (uncooked) and then put it in a marked freezer bag for the future. My meatloaf is really easy to make and tastes unbelievable. At the end of this post, I will post my cooking methods for both items I am discussing today.
I did some homemade rotisserie chicken for supper and prepared another one to be our supper for tomorrow. We will not eat all of either chicken so after we eat our fill, I will shred the chicken for some chicken sandwiches next week, chicken pot pie, chicken tacos, chicken enchiladas, etc. The rest of the 2nd chicken will be shredded and froze for future meals.
Easy Melody Meatloaf
2 lbs. hamburger meat 2 small cans tomato paste
1 small can tomato sauce 2 eggs
1 box stuffing mix 2 T. chopped onions
1 tsp. seasoning salt 1 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
Mix all ingredients together by hand. Form into 2 equal loaves. Double wrap one in foil and then place in freezer bag and freeze for up to 3 months. The other one place in a sprayed pan and bake for 1 hour at 400 degrees. Ten minutes before it is done, make a glaze of 3 T. worcestershire sauce and 6 T. ketchup. Pour onto meatloaf and finish cooking. This meatloaf is really moist and so delicious. Meatloaf always tastes better warmed up the next day but this meatloaf never makes it to day two. :-)
Homemade Rotisserie Chicken
Make a rub with the following ingredients:
- 4 teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon Dead sea salt (if not available, just use 1 tsp. more of salt)
- 2 teaspoons paprika
- 1 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 2 teaspoon garlic powder
This rub will be enough for a 10 pound chicken or 2 five pound fryers. I used the 2 fryers.
Once the rub is complete, wash and rinse the chickens. Pat dry with a paper towel. The first fryer will be cooked in the crockpot. Melt a tablespoon or 2 of butter per bird. Rub the butter over the outside of the chicken. Rub some of the mixture into the cavity of the chicken then place a half onion inside. Rub more onto the outside of the bird. Place in a crockpot on high for one hour. After an hour, turn the crockpot to low and cook 8-10 hours.
The second chicken, prepare the same way but put in a large freezer baggie and place in the refrigerator to marinate for a minimum of 4 hours. I like it to stay in the over night.
The next day, turn on the oven to 250 degrees to preheat. Slice up some potatoes and carrots and place in a cake pan or roaster. Remove the chicken from the freezer bag and place on top of the vegetables. Bake uncovered for 2 hours. At this point, turn the oven to 275 and cook for 45 minutes. Next, turn the oven back to 250 and bake 1 1/2-2 hours more. Once the juices run clear, remove from oven and drizzle the pan drippings over the chicken.
It is great like this but you can make a gravy out of the pan drippings by adding 1 can of chicken broth and a tablespoon of cornstarch. No other spices or needed. Bring it to a boil and let it thicken and it will turn out great.
As I said before, these turn out wonderful. Let your family eat their fill and then shred the rest for future meals. You get to eat wonderful food for a great price! Once you try it out, let me hear your comments!
In Christ,
Melody
Loving wife of Ronald and incredibly blessed home educating mother with fantastic children.
"Tough times never last, tough people do." -Robert Schuller
We worry about what a child will become tomorrow, yet we forget that he is someone today. ~Stacia Tauscher
