In these tough economic times, we need to make our money work just as hard for us as we do to earn the stuff. Why not make your next chicken a rubber chicken and see how far you can stretch it?
Make your money work for you
What could be more tragic, than to miss out on a good sale on
chicken? Why, I get positively giddy loading my cart with
69 cents a pound whole chickens. There is an important principle behind
a whole chicken versus a cut-up one: it's cheaper. Not only that,
it is the foundation to Rubber Chicken -- stretching one poor,
pathetic chicken into three meals.
Day one
Roast your chicken. Rinse your bird and pat him dry. Sprinkle
with salt and pepper and garlic powder. Bake approximately 30
minutes per pound, until juices run clear. Remove chicken from
the pan and make gravy.
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Day two
Pick every last ever-lovin' bit of chicken off them bones. Open
one 15 oz. can of black beans or pintos (or use homemade beans)
and toss the chicken and beans together in a pot. Add 1 tsp.
cumin, 1 tsp. garlic powder and some jarred salsa to taste. Warm
some flour tortillas and make burritos. Add some shredded
cheese, more salsa and you've got dinner!
Day three
By now, that chicken is in pretty sorry shape and resembles a
science project for your fifth grader. But not to worry -- let's
make soup! In a large pot, put the chicken, an uncut onion,
carrot and celery rib and cover with cold water. Simmer the
daylights out of it -- about 1-1/2 hours. Drain off everything but
the broth and now you can make whatever soup you like. Here's a
favorite of mine.
Clean Out the Crisper Vegetable Soup
Ingredients:
Chop what you have and set aside
(some good ones are carrots, celery, cabbage, zucchini, turnips
etc.)
1 small onion chopped
1 can diced tomatoes
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. thyme
Salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
In a soup pot, sauté the onion until almost clear. Add the rest
of the vegetables and cook about two minutes. Add the chicken
broth you just made and seasoning. Let simmer till vegetables
are tender and serve with plenty of bread and butter.
If you're a true Manic Housewife, you know how much you have
saved by turning your ordinary chicken into a rubber chicken. Be
creative and make up your own version of rubber chicken and
stretch your food dollars!
Links, information and more for you
About the author: Leanne Ely, CNC, is the editor of the "Healthy-Foods" newsletter. To join, send an email to: join-healthy-foods@ds.xc.org. Leanne is the author of Healthy Foods: An irreverent guide to understanding nutrition and feeding your family well (Champion Press), available now! For your own, autographed copy, send an email to manicwife@aol.com.
