Thursday, July 26, 2012

Simple Savings: Making the Most of Your Chicken


Picture from Christie's Corner

When I was first married, we went to a friend's house for Thanksgiving.  After the turkey was carved, they got out a big pot and put the carcass in it and started to cook it.  It was the first time I had ever seen someone cook a carcass, and I was surprised.  Growing up in a household with a father that was born in the Middle East, I only remember one year that we had a turkey for Thanksgiving.  But, this example of our friends taught me that I could stretch more out of a chicken or turkey than I was doing at present.  When I buy a whole chicken or a grill pack of chicken on sale, I first will debone the breasts and use them for a main dish of some sort, but not for casseroles.  I put the rest of the bone and whatever chicken is left into a crock pot with water and boil them.  After they are done boiling, I can use the meat for casseroles or soups or sandwiches and I use the broth in recipes that I need it for.  Even if you were to buy chicken broth on sale at Thanksgiving when it is the best price, you can still do better by purchasing inexpensive chicken with bones in it and making the broth yourself.  I had to pay $1.50 for a can of Chicken broth a few weeks ago because I had run out.  For that price, I could have boiled some inexpensive cut of chicken and had more broth than the can plus chicken to top it off.  You can usually get enough chicken from one fryer to last for at least 5 meals for a family of 4.  So, next time you buy a chicken on sale, think of the many ways you can stretch your dollars by making your own broth, etc.

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