I love Trader Joe's. I have recently rediscovered their freezer section. Every couple of weeks I go and stock my freezer with yummy, organic, international foods. I am the queen of throwing together random (or so it would seem) foods that I have on hand into great meals. I even impress myself at times with my yummy creations. I swear I must have been a gourmet chef in a past life. I could never be one now- I watch a lot of Food Network shows and I could never eat all the weird gourmet funky foods. Heck it is only in the last 10 years that I've gotten over my squeamishness at raw meats. I still can't deal with cleaning out a turkey. But I love cooking and combining foods. I love taking what I have on hand and making into something my kids devour. They seem to especially love skillet meals with everything all mixed up.
Earlier this week I had a great time combining the flavors of Mandarin Chinese, Peru and India. At the same time I included basics from typical American fare and I snuck in some veggies and flax seed too.
I thought I'd share it here since it was all pulled from the freezer a half hour before dinner time and homeschooling family or otherwise- dinner can be a tough thing to pull together quick and I hate falling into the trap of fast food and pizza.
ingredients:
- 1 bag Peruvian Chimichurri Rice
- 1/2 bag frozen Organic green beans (I would have used a whole bag, but this is what I had on hand).
- 2 bags Mandarin Orange Chicken
- 2 bags TJ's brown rice (they have a frozen precooked rice and a pantry one- either would work fine)
- 1/2 bag finely chopped spinach (here's how I sneak in the veggies that my kids don't like-well owen is the only veggie hater here- this could be done with any veggie on hand- just chop it up into itty bitty pieces and they'll never know what there.)
- 3 scoops organic sprouted golden flax. (this is something new I'm adding into our diet and I am still figuring this one out)
- Garlic Naan & Tandoori Naan Indian Bread
Start with the chicken in a large skillet (I would say that this could be halved for a smaller family). Cook the chicken for about 10 minutes, moving it around the skillet periodically. Next I add in the green beans, spinach and flax. I let it cook for anther 5 minutes or so then I added in all the rice. Once it is cooked all the way through (the rice & veggies- the chicken should be completely cooked through by now) I add the mandarin sauce that comes with the chicken. I also add salt and pepper. The garlic & tandoori Naan bread cooks up in the oven in about 2 minutes- and it is soooo yummy!
So there you go, international skillet meals by Meesh, courtesy of Trader Joe's frozen food section.