Standalone Cooking Segment: Meal Prep Chicken (Patreon)

What you'll need:

• A large portion of chicken breast, take the time to find out where you can get it for the best price in your region

• white rice, amount varies on how many portions you're making and how many carbs you want in each portion

• at least 2 bags of your preferred steamed veggies

• salt

• one bottle of your preferred marinade

• 1/3rd cup to 1 whole cup of your preferred hot sauce

• additional seasonings: I'd suggest starting with Garlic, fresh cracked pepper, and oregano

• A crock pot

• a food scale

• like a lot of paper towels

Prep:

• Get all of your chicken out of it's packaging and place it on a paper towel lined baking sheet. liberally salt both sides and let the salt sap out excess moisture for 20-60 minutes

• dab off any pooling moisture on the tops of the chicken breasts and take the time to weigh them out. write down the amount in ounce or grams and then decide if you want to make a set amount of portions where the amount of chicken varies or if you want to vary the amount of portions based on a set amount of chicken per portion. For example, if I decided that I wanted no more than 12oz of chicken breast per portion and I had 145oz of chicken breast after salting, I'd make enough of everything else for 12 portions of meal prep

• in a bowl whisk together your bottle of marinade, the hot sauce, and any spices you'd like to use. then pour a small amount onto the bottom of your crock pot, add a layer of chicken, then cover that chicken in just enough marinade to coat, and repeat until you're out of chicken.

• Cook in a crock pot on low for 6-7 hours.

• While the chicken is cooking, decide on how much rice you want to have per portion and cook that much according to the instructions on the bag or your rice cooker if you have one. Don't forget to rinse the rice.

• microwave those bags of veggies, don't be a hero and try to steam them or use fresh ones: these are going into the freezer anyway.

• preemptively portion out your rice and veggies, let them cool, and place them all int he fridge to await the chicken

• When the rock pot timer goes off, turn off all sources of heat and let the chicken rest for 15-30 minutes. When rested, use a pair of forks to shred and mix your chicken. Allow to rest for another 15-20 minutes.

• Get your portions out of the fridge and start weighing out your predetermined portions of chicken. let them cool down before adding to the fridge, and then wait at least an hour before transferring all portions except for what you can eat in the next 48-72 hours into the freezer for long term storage. Whenever you take a potion out of the fridge to eat, take one from the freezer and move it to the fridge.