Freeze Ahead: Balsamic Chicken with Mushrooms

This is actually an adaptation of an old Weight Watchers recipe I used. (if you are on WW the only thing that has any points in it is the chicken and goat cheese if you use it). So, my freeze ahead meals are designed for my lifestyle. I usually spend either a long day or a weekend cooking for the week.

You will need:

4 chicken breasts
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
2 cups roughly chopped mushrooms of choice (Portabella are my fav)
1 clove garlic, minced
2 shallots minced or 4 chopped green onions or 1 chopped leek (or not all!)
freezer bag
(asparagus and goat cheese but not until the day you serve it)

Put raw chicken breast in the bottom of the bag.
Mix mustard, garlic and vinegar, then pour into bag on top of chicken.
Throw everything else in the bag and freeze it.

Fast forward to later in the week.... defrost bag however you defrost. (I put it in the fridge the night before).

When you come home from a long day with the kids, or work, or whatever exhausts you, dump the bag into a hot pan and cook it! That's it! Cook it until the chicken is done!

I don't eat carbs at night, but you can serve it with rice. My favorite is to empty the pan throw some fresh asparagus in the same hot pan, then serve it all together with goat cheese. I promise you..... this will make its way into your rotation!

The Supreme Supreme

So, here is the thing about citrus. Whenever someone around me starts to eat an orange, I walk by and think to myself "oooooo that smells amazing! I should get some oranges!" So I do. But when I open the fridge in search of a quick snack, I don't see that awesome, juicy flavorful delight for what it is... I see peel and seeds, and pith and mess.

Celeste and I live in Florida. Every Autumn (but Autumn I mean like late November/early December) the groves come alive, and citrus gets cheap! So Celeste bought a HUGE flat grapefruit, oranges and nectarines. While at her house she puts a big bowl in front of me full of supremed citrus. Now, I supreme all the time for recipes and salads, but I never thought to do all my oranges at once, and then eat them with a fork! No going back!

SO....here is how I do it!

1) Peel your orange, but with a knife. Make sure you get all the membrane.You should see the juicy part all the way around.

2) With a sharp knife, cut on either side of the wedge. Get as close as you can. You want to get as much fruit as possible. You will be able to easily see the seeds and pluck them out. I recomend you do this over your storage container, because all this loveley juice will begin to pour out!. The wedges will just slide right out!
* disclaimer: be careful, people! I'm not responsible if you are in a hurry and supreme your fingers!

3) I like to take the peel, and carefully remove all the pith. You can julienne and add to all kinds of sweet or savory dishes! (I use this in a lot of my recipes) But in the mean time, the peel can stay in a zipper bag in your fridge for 1-2 weeks! And the oranges are ready to eat, our add to your salads, yogurt....whatever!