Make-aheads are your friend

Another recipe for the kitchen haters.

Make-aheads are a great little trick for us kitchen-hating-wanna-be-healthy people.  Make a bunch of food all at once and eat it for the rest of the week, cutting down on future prep time.

Ah, such a simple concept, right?

But when overeating is your downfall, a huge pot of anything can sabotage your portion control efforts.

For example: You make a crockpot full of beef with the intention of feeding your face with it for several days, only to find yourself in a meat coma 30 minutes later--standing over an empty crockpot with  juice dripping from your chin and not the foggiest clue what just happened.

The eater's remorse takes over and you drown your guilt in a few Dove chocolates.

And by a few, I mean the entire bag.

My way around this?  Dish out your portion and put the rest away in the fridge or even the freezer before you even sit down to eat.  That's it.  Out of sight, out of mind.  Eat what's in front of you and move on.

Step AWAY from the Tupperware, Chubs!

Anyhoo ...

I made one of my favorite make-aheads tonight.  This time, I took the picture myself - as opposed to stealing it from Google images - so that you can see why I don't take pictures of food, or why I shouldn't be allowed to.

Green Chili Chicken

Preheat oven to 375

Ingredients

3-4 boneless,skinless chicken breasts, thawed
1 TB olive oil
Pat of butter (optional)
1 small can diced green chilies
1/4 c. diced onion
Salt

Spray bottom of a baking pan with cooking spray.  Place the chicken breasts in the baking pan and bake for approximately 20-25 minutes, or until ALMOST completely cooked (an ever so slight tinge of pink left inside).

Remove the breasts from the oven and cut into small pieces.  Heat oil (and butter, if desired) in skillet over medium/high heat.

Once butter is melted or oil is heated, add chicken, chilies, onion, and salt (to taste).  Reduce heat to medium. Continue to cook and stir until chicken is slightly browned and cooked through.

All done.

You can eat this alone with veggies (boooooring) ... or ...

Do what I do and put it into a whole grain tortilla or a couple of corn tortillas and sprinkle a small amount of grated cheese, oodles of chopped lettuce, and salsa  (oooh, I have a recipe for fresh homemade salsa that will rock your socks.  I must remember to share).

This chicken is also yummy (or as my husband says, "tight") on top of a tostada shell with some black beans and a little cheese and a tiny dollop of reduced fat sour cream.

I love having this super easy make-ahead chicken on hand for when I'm in a hurry and don't want to spend too much time in the kitchen -- which is pretty much kind of always.