One of the best things to learn is marinating. It will change your world!

First of all, let me point out I like to marinate chicken AND pork chops. Usually I will stick the chicken and pork chops into a bag and pour marinating sauce into them. I place the bags into the fridge or freezer, depending on how soon I want to cook them.

I find if you let the meat sit at least for 20 minutes in the sauce, in the fridge, the meat will get flavoring. BUT I find if you let it sit for about 24 hours in the fridge the meat will be more tasty and flavorful.

I prep my work area by getting out the sauces I will use, labeling zip lock bags on what sauce and meat is in the bag, open the bags to stand up, and get the meat out.

I put however much meat I want into the bags and then I pour the sauces into the bags. I flatten the bags, getting out as much air as I can. I close the bags.

The parmesan chicken (lower right) in the picture makes me so hungry 😦

It is so important to label! Don’t be like the ‘old’ me and say I don’t need to label, I will remember. Ha, come a few weeks later I won’t remember what’s in the bag. 😅 So just label it! You’ll thank me later 🤪.

Then comes the fun part of deciding what goes into the fridge and what goes into the freezer. If I plan to cook it within a few days, I place it into the fridge. The week after? I put it into the freezer.

I don’t keep meat long in the freezer, but I wouldn’t let it go pass 6 months. The longer it’s kept in the freezer it could get freezer burnt or lose taste.

When it comes time to pull chicken out of the freezer, there are two options to thaw the chicken. Either put it in the fridge to thaw out over a few days or stick it in the microwave on defrost. As a third option, you could soak it in warm water but my go to is either leaving it in the fridge or use the microwave.

With my microwave it takes about 30 minutes to defrost. I don’t just stick the chicken in the microwave, put in minutes, and start cooking. My microwave has a defrost button. I guess you could use it without the defrost button, but it might over cook the chicken. When it’s defrosted, I put the chicken onto a casserole dish and into the oven.

I cook my chicken 375 degrees for 25 minutes then I flip and cook for 10 minutes. I cook until white inside.

The pork chops I usually get are thin and I cook those on 350 degrees for 20 minutes. I cook until white inside.

When you learn how to do this and get a process down, I really feel like this is an asset. Not only are you going to prepare something tasty and enjoyable, but you can stock your freezer. This is a great method to have if you see meat on clearance. Also, you will have food stored away in the freezer for later use.