OAMC / Bulk Cooking: The Chicken Plan
By Kim Tilley
Chicken Plan page 1 | 2 | 3 | 4
Fajitas - also from the Online CookBook by Dawn Wise
- 5 tbsp. oil
- 1/4 cup lime juice
- 1/2 tsp cumin
- 1/8 tsp cayenne
- 1 lb boneless and skinless chicken breast, cut into thin strips OR 1 lb flank steak, cut diagonally across the grain, into thin strips
- 1 large red pepper, cut into thin strips
- 1 large yellow pepper, cut into thin strips
- 1 large green pepper, cut into thin strips
- 1 onion, sliced thin or 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1/4 tsp pepper
- Flour tortillas
- Shredded cheese
- Sour cream
- Guacamole
Mix together 2 tbsp. oil, lime juice, cumin and cayenne in a bowl and add the meat. Stir to coat and place the meat with the marinade in a freezer bag.
Slice all the peppers, onions and mince the garlic and place in a large freezer bag. Freeze both bags.
To prepare, thaw both the marinated meat and the vegetables. In a large skillet, heat 1 tbsp. oil until very hot. Add the meat with marinade and stir-fry over high heat until the meat is cooked. Remove the meat from the skillet and set aside. Add the remaining 2 tbsp. oil to the skillet and heat until very hot. Add the contents of the vegetable bag to the oil and stir-fry until tender crisp, 3 to 5 minutes. Return the meat to the skillet and heat through. Serve with warm tortillas, cheese, sour cream, guacamole, and other condiments of your choice.
Kim's note: I get a multicolored bell pepper 4 pack at Aldi for 1.19. I get several at a time, chop them and freeze each according to color, that way, I always have enough colorful peppers at a very cheap price!
Update: These were excellent! I will use a little less lime juice next time and less bell peppers.
Skewered Chicken
Here is another great recipe from my mom. I didn't have enough chicken to make this one, but it is so easy, it hardly seems worth the effort to fix ahead and freeze. This could be a "Quick and Easy" entree, when you want something fresh!
- 1 pound or more boneless skinless chicken breasts
- soy sauce
- bamboo/wooden skewers
Cut chicken into long strips and marinate for 15 minutes in soy sauce.
Put chicken strips on skewers, piercing in several places so they will stay on well (like sewing it on!)
Grill it! Great with grilled veggies and corn on the cob, or with an oriental style dinner, great for summertime!
Kim's Oven Fried Chicken Strips
- Shake and Bake (made recipe above)
- boneless skinless chicken, cut into strips
- buttermilk
Soak cut up chicken in buttermilk for 15 minutes or longer (can be overnight if you like).
Dip each strip into shake and bake, coating well.
Bake at 350° for 30 minutes or until cooked through.
Freeze on a cookie sheet, then put into Ziploc when frozen.
To serve, use directly from freezer. You can microwave these (not crispy but good) or reheat in an oven. Very convenient!
Kim's Deep Fried Chicken Strips
This is not a low fat recipe! We do this one for special occasions. If you still want the taste and less fat (or want to stretch these farther), put them in a salad like the restaurants do! MMMM
- 1 pound boneless skinless chicken, cut into strips/pieces
- 1 cup of buttermilk
- 2 cups of flour
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 1 tsp pepper
- other seasonings of your choice
- oil for deep frying
Soak chicken in buttermilk for 15 minutes or longer (use watered-down sour cream if you don't have buttermilk - just water down to buttermilk consistency).
Mix together flour, salt pepper and seasonings of your choice (I add red pepper for spicy ones)
Dip soaked chicken in flour mixture, coating well. (To freeze, put on cookie sheet and place in freezer. When frozen, put into Ziploc.)
Deep fry in hot oil until golden. The best chicken strips we've ever had, and the cheapest too! (messy though!)
Update: This recipe has become a favorite in our house. I now only do the fried chicken strips this way. It is far less messy and they come out great. The secret is to get the oil REALLY hot. We make extras for fried chicken salad, which is sliced up chicken strips on a bed of lettuces and tomatoes, topped with some insanity sauce (shown below). It's a lot like Steak and Shake's fried chicken salad.
Kim's Insanity Sauce
I serve this with my chicken strips. I also use it in place of mayo in chicken or tuna salad, and as a dip for chips or sauce for pitas and burritos.
- 1 cup of ranch dressing (we get the gallon size at Sam's)
- one or two drops (yes, DROPS) of "Dave's Insanity Sauce," an explosively hot sauce (I found it at Kitchens store in the mall, the web site is called Dave's Gourmet)
Mix ingredients well. If the sauce is at all slightly pink, it will probably blow your mouth off! The pepper sauce is advertised as being "the hottest sauce in the world" and let me tell you, it is one of the hottest I've tried, but excellent if mixed with a lot of a "cooling" agent like sour cream, yogurt or ranch. I keep a container mixed up in the fridge at all times. It is truly wonderful and our friends love it too (we entertain a lot!)
By the way, my husband's name is Dave and I KNOW he is insane! We tease him a lot about the sauce!
Kim's fried chicken salad
I make this with leftovers of my made chicken strips. We eat those one night, cook extra and make the salads during the week, this is one of our favorites! Inspired by Steak and Shake, but now after a taste comparison, it is better!
Per person (big portions) you will need:
- 2-3 fried chicken strips
- 2 cups lettuce (use a combination,romaine and spinach are good, don't use iceberg, yuck!)
- 1/4 cup chopped tomatoes
- additional salad topping: shredded carrot, alfalfa sprouts, sliced onion,
- steamed veggies, whatever you like
- insanity sauce for the dressing
Assemble by putting lettuces on plate, followed by tomatoes and optional other toppings. Top with cut up fried chicken strips (I cut them pretty small- bite size) and top with dressing. Yummy!
All Purpose Chicken & Broth (crockpot) from the Busy cooks website
- 1 onion, sliced
- 1 carrot, sliced
- 1 celery rib, sliced
- 1 large Chicken, 5 lbs or more
- 1/2 c chicken broth or water
Place sliced vegetables in the bottom of the crockpot. Place cleaned chicken on top, neck up. Season as desired. Pour broth over chicken. Cover and cook on low 8 or 9 hours.
Remove chicken from pot and cool. Meanwhile, strain stock and defat. This stock is double strength, so mix with equal parts water for use. Remove chicken from bones and cut into pieces sized appropriately for your recipe. You can make more broth by returning the bones and skin to the crockpot and covering with water. Cook on low overnight and strain broth. Refrigerate until fat rises to the top. Skim fat and freeze broth.
Notes: This is not really a main dish, but a painless way to obtain cooked chicken for salads, casseroles, etc. An added bonus is the several cups of double strength chicken broth. Juicy, tender, flavorful chicken and a very rich broth for very little of your time.
Kim's note: I have been using chicken backs for this recipe, seems fine. Why not get every penny out of those birds?!
Well, I hope I haven't bored you all to tears or scared you off! Happy cooking!
Chicken Plan page 1 | 2 | 3 | 4
About the Author
Kim Tilley, a tightwad at heart, is a wife, a mother of three active boys and the founding editor of Frugal-Moms.com. Frugal by force and later by choice, Kim cut her income by 60% to stay at with her children and discovered that anyone can live better for less. Her work has appeared in print publications such as The Tightwad Gazette. In her free time, she entertains herself by chasing kids and finding ways to create something from nothing!
© 2002-2006 Fractured Frugal Friends (F3). All Rights Reserved. Used by permission.