One Pan Honey Garlic Chicken, Potatoes, and Broccoli - Freezer Style

I just made a really good chicken dish! I'm normally not a huge fan of baked chicken breast because it seems to always come out a little dry. BUT THIS. So juicy, and so flavorful!

Original Poster: Damn Delicious

Instead of showing how I cooked someone else's recipe to perfection, this post I'm going to talk through how I can make it a freezer meal! (Note the beautiful Snapchat caption filled with lies)

...DAMN I lied to my snap friends. That's ok though. 

Freezer meals are beautiful creatures that save you time, money, and energy. This is especially important for me and Jud, because medical school is a big ole bitch.

Here are the ingredients and instructions, per the original poster:

"Ingredients
3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
2 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
16 ounces baby red potatoes, halved
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
24 ounces broccoli florets*
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves

-Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Lightly oil a baking sheet or coat with nonstick spray.
In a small bowl, whisk together 2 tablespoons olive oil, butter, honey, brown sugar, Dijon, garlic, oregano and basil; season with salt and pepper, to taste. Set aside.
-Place potatoes in a single layer onto the prepared baking sheet. Drizzle with remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Top with chicken in a single layer and brush each chicken breast with honey mixture.
-Place into oven and roast until the chicken is completely cooked through, reaching an internal temperature of 165 degrees F, about 25-30 minutes.* Stir in broccoli during the last 10 minutes of cooking time. Then broil for 2-3 minutes, or until caramelized and slightly charred.
-Serve immediately, garnished with parsley, if desired.

Instructions
Notes
*24 ounces broccoli florets is equal to about 5 cups. 
*Cooking time will vary depending on the size and thickness of the potatoes. "

• 
  

• To make this bad boy a "freezer meal," what I'm going to do is make enough of the glaze sauce for 2 dinners. Put half in a gallon freezer bag, and repeat in another bag. Then I'll stuff in 4 chicken breasts into each freezer bag. Mix it around nicely. Lay both bags flat in the freezer. When I defrost the chicken, the glaze will act as a marinade and hopefully it will be SERIOUSLY JUICY. 

• For the potatoes, to make this really easy on myself for cooking night, I will slice up my potatoes and freeze them too! 
• Unfortunately I learned from my friend Google that freezing potatoes raw is a bad idea. It changes the texture of the potatoes and makes them grainy. Lucky for us, Google also had an answer for that. It's called blanching. 

Me too, Blanche. Me too. 

• How do we do it? Like this:
1. Wash your taters. Cut them how you want to cook them.
2. Water blanch for 3-5 minutes depending on size.

"Blanching (scalding vegetables in boiling water or steam for a short time) is a must for almost all vegetables to be frozen. It stops enzyme actions which can cause loss of flavor, color and texture. Blanching cleanses the surface of dirt and organisms, brightens the color and helps retard loss of vitamins. It also wilts or softens vegetables and makes them easier to pack.  

Blanching time is crucial and varies with the vegetable and size. Underblanching stimulates the activity of enzymes and is worse than no blanching. Overblanching causes loss of flavor, color, vitamins and minerals. Use one gallon water per pound of prepared vegetables. Put the vegetable in a blanching basket and lower into vigorously boiling water. Place a lid on the blancher. The water should return to boiling within 1 minute, or you are using too much vegetable for the amount of boiling water. Start counting blanching time as soon as the water returns to a boil. Keep heat high for the time given in the directions for the vegetable you are freezing."

                         3. Let them cool in some ice, then drain.
                 4. Pack em up for the freezer!

• Next we have the broccoli. Buy frozen broccoli. ;)

On COOKING DAY:

Defrost the chicken & potatoes in the refrigerator the night before. 

Take out your broccoli once you start cooking. 

Then cook by the directions in the recipe! 

EAZY