How to Meal Prep Chicken...if you hate meal prepping.

Summary

In this video, the creator shares six different meals cooked throughout a work week, focusing on flexibility and using staple ingredients. Starting with a pack of chicken thighs, the meals feature creative uses of ingredients with a focus on convenience and taste. The video highlights tips like ingredient stacking and the 'two-minute rule' for quick meal prep. Through a mix of sandwiches, salads, pasta, and chilaquiles, the creator shows how to cook flavorful meals without a strict plan, offering practical advice for home cooks with busy schedules.

Takeaways

• 🍗 The video showcases six different meals prepared over a work week using a pack of 10 chicken thighs.
• 🍳 The meals feature lunch and dinner on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, all built around chicken as the main protein.
• ⏳ Meal prepping can save time and money, but it has downsides, including high activation effort, lack of variety, and less opportunity for creativity.
• 🔄 The key concept is 'ingredient stacking'—using extra ingredients from one meal to create another meal later in the week, rather than reheating leftovers.
• 🛒 The creator spent only $22.91 on groceries, with the rest of the meals made from pantry, fridge, or freezer staples.
• 🌿 Using the 'two-minute rule,' the creator preps small tasks like salting and storing chicken, making future cooking easier.
• 🥪 Meals range from a pizza chicken sandwich to a chicken salad and a roasted poblano chicken quesadilla, emphasizing flexibility and creativity.
• 👩‍🍳 Cleaning as you cook and multi-tasking during cooking is a major efficiency tip throughout the week.
• 🔥 Slow-braised chicken in duck fat resulted in ultra-tender shredded chicken, used in multiple meals over several days.
• 🍽️ The video highlights the creator’s flexible approach to meal planning, where the week unfolds based on ingredients on hand and time constraints.

Q & A

What is the main purpose of this video?

The main purpose of the video is to show six different meals that the creator cooked during a workweek, focusing on how they used a single pack of 10 chicken thighs to create various dishes while meal prepping.

How does the creator's approach differ from traditional meal prepping?

The creator's approach involves 'ingredient stacking,' where they cook extra ingredients from one meal and repurpose them for different meals later in the week. Unlike traditional meal prepping, which focuses on reheating full meals, this method allows for more variety and creativity throughout the week.

What challenges or downsides of meal prepping does the creator mention?

The creator lists four downsides to meal prepping: high activation effort, reheated meals often lacking taste and texture, limited variety, and reduced use of cooking skills and creativity during the week.

What is the 'two-minute rule' that the creator refers to?

The 'two-minute rule' refers to the practice of taking quick, small steps like salting and prepping chicken in advance, which can make cooking more manageable and help kickstart the process for more efficient meal prep later.

How did the creator prepare the chicken thighs for the week?

The creator dry-brined six chicken thighs by salting them on both sides and making cross cuts in thicker sections to help with cooking. Two thighs were frozen for later use, while the remaining thighs were prepped to be cooked for various meals.

What kind of cooking equipment does the creator recommend in the video?

The creator highly recommends the carbon steel griddle from the brand Made In, calling it a key part of their day-to-day cooking. They also use a griddle press, which they mention as a nice touch for their cooking process.

What meals did the creator make on Monday?

On Monday, the creator made a chicken thigh sandwich with banana peppers, shredded lettuce, and Parmigiano-Reggiano for lunch, using frozen Detroit-style pizza as the bread. For dinner, they made a chicken salad with romaine lettuce, red onion, cherry tomatoes, banana peppers, and a homemade vinaigrette using the leftover chicken.

How does 'ingredient stacking' help the creator make quick meals during a busy week?

Ingredient stacking allows the creator to prepare extra components like cooked chicken or roasted poblanos in one meal, which can then be repurposed into different dishes later in the week. This reduces the time and effort needed to prepare future meals without resorting to reheating entire pre-cooked meals.

What are some tips the creator gives for efficient meal preparation?

The creator advises using the 'two-minute rule' to start small tasks like prepping ingredients, cooking extra components for ingredient stacking, and always cleaning as you go to stay organized and reduce overall cooking time.

What kind of meals did the creator make using the chicken thighs throughout the week?

The creator made various meals including a chicken thigh sandwich, chicken salad, poblano con queso chicken tacos, a cheesy one-pot pasta with chicken and roasted poblano, and chilaquiles verde with shredded chicken.