What a great way to start a Monday! I found some super-cheap chicken at Wally world, and I have already made several meals for the week and a couple for the freezer! The boneless, skinless chicken breast is on sale for $1.78 per pound, so I got a 5.5 lb. package for $9.88! Woohoo!
Friends, I have a rule about buying meat -- as soon as it comes into the house, it gets dealt with right then and there. You know we've all done it before...found the big package on sale, and put it into the refrigerator, and, well...forgotten about it until it's too late! I used to be really bad about this (shameful confession) until I gave myself the 'deal with it now' rule about buying meat. Of course this doesn't mean that I have to cook the meat right away, but it does mean that it at least comes out of the store packaging and into my own well-labeled freezer bags.
What can you do with all that chicken? So many things! If you're short on time, then simply put them into manageable serving sized bags for the freezer. For example, 4 chicken breasts per package for feeding a family of 4, or if you're like me, 2 for my family of 2...it's just me and sweet hubby. Label them and get them into the freezer right away. Or, if you have a little spare time, you can cut some of them into strips or chunks for future use. Strips are great for breading and oven-baking, and chunks are great for stir-frying, or for making kabobs on the grill.
With a little spare time this morning, I went ahead and cooked most of my chicken. It may sound like a daunting task to some, but honestly it was easy and only took me about 40 minutes from start to finish. The convection oven and the grill pan were going at once, so it was good use of my cooking time.
Today I grilled two types of chicken for future use. First I seasoned some with Cavender's Greek Seasoning -- we love this over pasta, or on a Greek salad, yum. I then grilled some Jerk chicken simply using Jerk seasoning for this week's lunches. We're trying to eat healthier, so it's 'salad for lunch' week at our house. The chicken will be a nice lean protein for our chef salads. This should get us through Thursday for lunches quite nicely. Friday is always an 'eat out' day for Hubby...he's gotta have a Lot-a-burger on Fridays!
At the same time the chicken was grilling I baked off some breaded chicken strips. Here's a simple recipe: Mix 3 tbsp. butter with 2 tbsp. fresh lemon juice and 1 minced clove of garlic in a dish. Then, in another dish season Panko bread crumbs (or regular crumbs) with any seasonings you like. Dip the chicken strips into the butter mixture, then into the seasoned crumbs, and then bake them in a 9 x 13 - inch baking dish for 20 minutes in a preheated 350-degree oven. It's just that simple! Once they've cooled completely, put them into (again) well-labeled freezer bags for future meals. These strips are great reheated as a main course, or also delicious on a salad. (I know, the salad thing again!) I put two packages of these breaded chicken strips in the freezer today -- one for us, and one for my Daddy. He will love 'em!
Still more chicken....next I cut 2 breasts into 1-inch cubes for the chicken and veggie kabobs we'll be grilling up tomorrow night. These will have a seasoning of butter, chili powder and lime juice and will be fabulous with that smokey grill flavor...can't wait for those!
Chicken has endless possibilities, and when you can get it on the 'cheap', I say stock up! Here are some other great chicken recipes for you to enjoy:
Butter Pecan Glazed Chicken --- oh my...salivating just thinking about this one!
Cheddar Crunch Chicken --- cut the chicken breasts into strips instead of buying the more expensive 'tenders'.
Fresh Spinach Chicken with Balsamic Glaze --- sounds fancy, but it's simple and scrumptious!
There ya' have it! Some ideas for eating chicken on the cheap! Enjoy!
Until we eat again...happy cooking!
Kimberley
p.s..............speaking of chicken, an old favorite of ours is back -- Rex's Chicken -- yum!
Located at 111th and Memorial, it's worth the drive even if you're like me and live in Sand Springs! Love me some Rex's chicken!
0 comments:
Post a Comment