This recipe comes from the book “The Freezer Cooking Manual from 30 Day Gourmet” by Tara Wolhlenhaus and Nanci Slagle. The book contains a great many recipes that are intended to be made up in bulk and frozen. Since there are no funky adjustments in ingredient quantities between the meal amounts I’ve included the ingredients for one meal. You can easily double to sextuple it by multiplying the ingredients by the amount of meals you wish to make. As I try to save resources as much as I can I’ve only included the “Bake on Serving Day” preparations.

• 1/4 cup Italian dressing
• 2-3 pounds fresh fryer parts
• 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
• 1/3 cup dry bread crumbs
• 2 Tablespoons parsley flakes
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper

Pour chicken parts and salad dressing into a freezer bag (I use the wide bottom 1 gallon size). Combine the parmesan cheese, dry bread crumbs, parsley flakes, paprika, salt and pepper in a quart-sized freezer bag and shake well to mix. Attach to the bag of chicken or put both bags into a larger freezer bag. Seal, label and freeze.

To serve, thaw marinated chicken and crumb mixture. Roll chicken one piece at a time in the crumbs, or shake in a bag, then place chicken in a greased 9×13-inch pan or on a cookie sheet. Spoon excess dressing over chicken. Bake at 350º(F) for 1 hour or until thickest piece is done.

Serves 4-6

• 3 cups quick oats
• salt
• sugar or Splenda
• cinnamon
• dried apples, chopped
• 8 quart size zipper freezer bags

Put 1/2 cup oats in a blender and whirl at high speed until powdery; reserve in a small bowl and repeat with another 1/2 cup of oats. If you are using a food processor you can process the 1cup of oats in one motion.

Into each bag put 1/4 cup unpowdered oats, 2 tablespoons powdered oats, a scant 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1 tablespoon sugar or Splenda, 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon, and 2 tablespoons chopped dried apples.

To serve, empty bag into a bowl (don’t forget to rinse and reuse!). add 3/4 cup boiling water; stir and let stand for two minutes. Use less or more water according to taste.

Makes 8 packets (for maximum nutrition, I keep my packets in my freezer)

Some may argue that it’s just as easy to make quick oats and add the fruit and flavoring to it. Yeah, I suppose, but I’m not a morning person, nor am I always around when the kids demand oatmeal, so making it up ahead and storing it makes life easier in this household.