Chicken for Everyday

For this, you can use either boneless or bone-in. I used the boneless, because Iwas able to get it for $1.66 a pound. I bought 2 bags at Aldi's, they were 3 lb bags for $4.99. So I started with 6 pounds of boneless chicken breasts.I cooked it the way I cook most meats in large quantities: in a large oval roaster, with a tight-fitting lid. I put it in at 5:00pm, and it was ready to use at 9:00pm. I cooked it at 300 degrees, with a cup of water, salt and pepper. That was it. Halfway through the cooking time, I took it out and, using a spatula, I broke it up in pieces and let it continue to cook in the wonderful juice it had in it.When it was done, I let it cool slightly. Then, using the freezer plastic ziplockbags, I separated it into 6 packages. At this point you can leave out what you want and freeze the rest for easy meals. And don't forget to distribute the stock-- it will need stock to thaw it out so it does not become dry. If for some reason you do not have enough stock, you can always make a cup of stock using buillon or, my personal favorite, chicken base. Then just add it to the freezer containers. Here are some ideas:

Chicken Lasagna:
2 cans spaghetti sauce
Oven-ready noodles
Ricotta cheese with an egg and mozzarella cheese mixed all together.
Spoon some of the sauce in a casserole dish. Lay noodles on top. Distribute thawed chicken meat over noodles. Cover with sauce. Add more noodles, then all of the ricotta cheese mixture. Add more noodles, and cover with the rest of the sauce. Top with fresh Parmesan cheese and bake at 400 degrees for 45 minutes or until bubbly.

Cream of Chicken:
Add the chicken to a saucepan. Add half a cup of stock, which has 2 teaspoons of flour whisked in (stock make from buillon or base). Cook until hot. Add 1/3 cup heavy cream, give a quick stir, and serve over toast, biscuits, or buttered noodles. Good side dishes with this are steamed broccoli, glazed carrots, or a tossed salad. You can also stir in some mushrooms.

Chicken Tettrazini:
This could not be easier! Take the Cream of Chicken and, instead of serving, stir in a can of mushrooms, pimentos and a handful of cooked spaghetti. Pour into greased casserole dish, smother with cheddar cheese, and bake until bubbly.This is one of our favorites!

Chicken Barbecue
Thaw the chicken, add bottled barbecue of your choice, and serve. What is easier?

Chicken and Dumplings
Bring to a boil 6-8 cups of chicken stock ( you can make this from buillon or base.) While that is cooking, take a can of 10 biscuits, flour each biscuit and flatten out until each one is thin. Using a pizza cutter, cut each biscuit into strips, turn and cut again to make small squares. Drop each piece individually into boiling stock. When you are through dropping the biscuits in, give it a quick stir, and simmer gently uncovered and stirring frequently. After 10 minutes, add a bag of the thawed chicken. Simmer an additional 10 minutes and serve.

Chicken Fajitas
Put chicken in crock pot (frozen is ok) with a sliced onion, sliced green pepper, salt and pepper. Cook on low for 2 hours. Serve in warm tortillas with sour cream, lettuce, and salsa. If you like it crisp (as I do), you can stir fry the veggies then add the chicken, thawed, after you remove the veggies.

Chicken and Dressing
Prepare boxed cornbread-style stuffing mix, using 2 cups of water and a whole stick of margarine. When it is done, pour into a greased casserole dish. Top with chicken, a cup of stock (made from-- well you know by now-- buillon or base), dot with margarine, and bake until bubbly, about 30 minutes.

White Chili
Take 2 cans of Northern beans; add chicken and a can of sliced green chilis. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer. Serve in bowls with a sprinkle of cheddar cheese, a dollop of sour cream, and a spoonful of salsa. This is so good and easy it is a sin.

"Homemade" Chicken Noodle Soup
Cook a bag of noodles. Cover with enough water to make a soup. For each cup of water you used, use a buillon cube or a teaspoon of chicken base. Add a finely diced carrot, a small amount of diced celery, salt, pepper, and a bag of your chicken (give it a few quick dices so the pieces are spoon sized). Simmer for 20 minutes, and serve. Your family will never want canned soup again. And why would they?

See how many meals you can use this in? And the chicken is already cooked so meal time is a breeze-- and most of the items are things already in your pantry. Cost-efficient, satisfying, and most of all, home-cooked. What can be better?