Ready Meals

[ElegantAura]

You know those pre-packaged meals you just heat and eat? They're super convenient.

Do you ever find yourself reaching for one of these when you're in a hurry or just not in the mood to cook?
If so, do you have a favourite?

 

[Mendalla]

Not usually. We tend to cook our own stuff and just make sure we've got leftovers or something easy to prepare around for days like that. There are a couple premade pastas that our local Costco sells that we buy occasionally, but it's not a regular thing.

 

[MamaFrankie]

I eat them all the time because I can't cook!

 

[ElegantAura]

Not usually. We tend to cook our own stuff and just make sure we've got leftovers or something easy to prepare around for days like that. There are a couple premade pastas that our local Costco sells that we buy occasionally, but it's not a regular thing.

I prefer to cook extra too.
Mostly, I get chicken, like KFC-style and nuggets, rather than full meals. But I like to try new things, so I end up getting some different meals sometimes.

I eat them all the time because I can't cook!

There are so many options now, and they taste a lot better compared to the past. However, getting a decent one can be costly. Do you have any favourites?

 

[MamaFrankie]

Quorn cottage pie and Quorn tikka masala.

Tomas can't cook either!

 

[ElegantAura]

Quorn cottage pie and Quorn tikka masala.

Tomas can't cook either!

Cottage pies in the frozen meals section are actually nice, but they are costly like all other meals.
I found the brand you mentioned at $6.75 AUD, which is a bit much.
Even the cheap brands that aren’t great are way over $3.

When they’re on sale, I’ll try them. I don’t mind that they have no meat.

Well, I guess Tomas doesn’t need to cook with so many options available.
Sometimes, I wish I didn’t have to cook too. There are times when I feel tired of cooking.

 

[MamaFrankie]

He said in an interview that Marie won't even let him in the kitchen when she is cooking!

 

[ElegantAura]

He said in an interview that Marie won't even let him in the kitchen when she is cooking!

There could be many reasons for this, but I guess it’s great that he doesn’t need to cook.

 

[PGen98]

I keep them on hand, but I prefer to stick to 'real' foods when I can. My go-tos when I do indulge are hot pockets or pastas, which...not great...lol

 

[passenger]

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How to Shred a Costco Rotisserie Chicken in 1 Minute (link)

This Costco hack couldn’t be easier. Simply place a warm rotisserie chicken in a gallon-sized zip-top bag (there’s no need to pull the chicken apart or do any other prep), seal the bag, and begin to gently massage the chicken. The drumsticks, breast meat, and thighs will very quickly separate from the bones. Continue to press and massage the meat until the skin slips off and the meat shreds to your desired consistency. Avoid rubbing or aggressively mashing the chicken, as this will lead to a mealy and undesirable texture.

-My Honest Review-
As soon as I saw that Reel, I knew I had to try this rotisserie chicken shredding strategy, and whoa, it really works! To be honest, I was skeptical that the meat would really pull away from the bones with as much ease as advertised, but I was able to shred an entire rotisserie chicken in one minute flat. That’s a task that would normally take 10 minutes or more.

Shredding rotisserie chicken always leaves my hands, cutting board, and countertop a greasy mess. By shredding the meat inside of a zip-top bag, all of that mess was completely contained. It’s easy to pick through the meat to discard the skin and pull out the bones (make sure to find all of the thin rib bones) for slow cooker chicken stock.

--3 Tips for Shredding Costco Rotisserie Chicken in 1 Minute--

Shred when the chicken is warm. Shredding rotisserie chicken is easiest when it’s warm, whether you use a stand mixer to shred the meat, two forks, or this one-minute hack. Make shredding a Costco rotisserie chicken the last thing you do after unloading your bulk buys. This gives the chicken time to cool down from the heat lamps — you don’t want to add hot chicken to a plastic bag. If your chicken has been refrigerated, place in a 250°F oven until just warmed, about 15 minutes, before placing it in the bag.

Use a good-quality gallon-sized zip-top bag. Costco’s rotisserie chickens are plump, but they fit snugly in a gallon-sized zip-top bag. Save the budget bags for another time and use freezer bags for this hack. Freezer bags are thicker and sturdy enough to withstand the massaging and are unlikely to tear if poked by a bone.

Freeze in the bag. Keeping a stash of shredded, cooked chicken in the freezer has saved my dinner plans more times than I can count. Now that I’ve adopted this hack, I shred the chicken, remove any skin and bones, and toss the bag of chicken in the freezer without having to dirty a cutting board or food storage container.