The school year routine can be a challenge. We don't need to tell you that. Fitting home-cooked meals into the days packed with extracurricular activities sometimes seems impossible. But there are ways to make oven-baked meals nearly effortless and stress-free, night after busy night.
Maple-Thyme Roasted Chicken Breasts
- Work your assets. Oven cooking is delicious and fuss-free, allowing your attention to be elsewhere while meals cook unsupervised. Using Reynolds™ Oven Bags, made from heat-resistant nylon, is a simple way to get perfectly moist meats and vegetables in less time than traditional oven cooking.
How does it work? The bags utilize naturally produced steam to help cook foods fast and keep meats juicy. And, Reynolds Oven bags are also microwave safe, perfect for cooking vegetables and seafood in a snap.
- Two-for-one cooking. If your family of 5 eats a 2 lb. cut of meat, cook 4 lbs. and freeze the leftovers for up to 3 weeks. Thawing and warming up a home-cooked meal is just as tasty and healthy as making one that day, and will save lots of time. Since Reynolds Oven Bags come in two sizes you can roast meats up to 24 lbs.
- Simplify meal planning. Plan the week's meals ahead of time and cut down on last minute trips to the store or costly dinners out. Create a grocery list based on the week's meals and make only one trip for all the necessary items.
- Cut down on prep. If you have time, prep all your vegetables when you get home from the store, slicing and storing them for grab-and-go weeknight cooking. If your schedule is too busy, you won't believe how much time and energy you can save by buying pre-sliced or frozen veggies.
- Shake it up. Always shake one tablespoon of flour in an oven bag before cooking. It protects the bag against bursting and thickens juices so sauces and gravies cook right with the meat— no extra pots or pans! More than one tablespoon may be used to create a thicker gravy. You can also use cornstarch, Matzo meal or any other kind of flour like rice or potato flour.
- Shortcut cleanup. With Reynolds Oven Bags there are no crusty pots and caked-on pans to scrub because everything cooks right in bag. Package leftovers, throw away the oven bag, rinse the pan…you're done!
Make dinnertime easier with Reynolds Oven Bags. For healthy, hearty dinners that come together in a snap, look for Reynolds Oven Bags in the food storage aisle and visit www.reynoldskitchens.com.