Make ahead madness
Today I bought a chicken on sale $1.69# for a total of $6.25. Almost every week I find myself buying a whole chicken, roasting, shredding and freezing, then telling myself, and my husband, and I am DONE with roasting whole chickens. I don’t make stock from the bones (I don’t have time to babysit a stock pot), and as you get closer to the bone the chicken can get mushy and kind of pink and icky looking. Then, because we live in Florida, land of critters in search of enticing trash, and endless sun beating down on our trash can, I have to keep the chicken bones wrapped up in the freezer until the trash pick-up day. The white meat is what I care about, so each week I tell myself, “from now on I am only buying split chicken breasts.” But, split chicken breasts are almost as expensive as boneless. Then I see a price like I did this week, I cave and buy the chicken to roast, shred, and freeze. sigh I froze two small containers of chicken, maybe cup or so, both for pizzas later in the week. I’ve learned one pizza with tons of chicken, a salad and fruit can feed all four of us.
I also roasted two pork tenderloins. I didn’t buy these on sale, but they will give us two dinners and several lunches. I think I will do a special post on everything we get out of two pork tenderloins.
Sunday: Cuban sandwiches, using pork I roasted
Monday: Leftover chicken alfredo
Tuesday: Pork, rice and beans
Wednesday: Store bought tortellini with balsamic tomatoes, cheese, onions, green peppers, olive oil
Thursday: Quesadillas, and tortilla soup I have frozen
Friday: Chicken pizza using chicken I roasted and froze, leftover pizza sauce that probably should have already been used, and fresh mozzarella, because 8oz blocks were 2 for $5.
Saturday/Sunday: TBD
I buy whole chickens all the time too here in Chicago. I can get them for only $1.19/lb. Do you have a slow cooker? Putting the whole chicken with just some carrots, celery, salt, and pepper on low for 7-8 hours makes the meat literally fall off the bones. Then you can just throw the bones back in the slow cooker and instantly start your stock. No babysitting required 😉
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Yes, I do have a slow cooker and would not survive without it! Two of my friends just told me about making stock in the slow cooker, so I will look into that. Thanks for the tip.
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I actually wrote a post about how I make stock! If you’re interested, here’s the link: http://wp.me/p5aHYx-9L
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Thank you! I bookmarked it. And super cute blog – real food on a real budget. Love!
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Ahhh!! Thanks so much! I truly have a passion for saving money 😉
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