Why I love whole chickens (and why you should too)

I know that a lot of people out there don't like to mess with whole chickens and I have to agree that there is a yuck factor involved, but for a frugal gall like me the savings are too good to pass up. To start I buy whole chickens when they are about 60 cents a pound. This is my rock bottom stock up price and I'll usually buy 3 or 4 when they are this cheap and put them in my freezer for later. I will usually get a 4 or 5 pound chicken, which means that a whole chicken costs around $3.
My favorite way to use these whole chickens is to cook them in the crockpot. To do this I thaw a chicken, remove the giblets (save these for later) and put it in my crockpot. I then cover the chicken in water and cook it on low until the chicken is cooked through, usually about 4 or 5 hours. When the chicken is fully cooked take it out of the crockpot and let it sit until it is cool enough to handle, leave the liquid in the crockpot on low, you will get back to it later. After the chicken is cool enough to handle take all of the meat off the bones (put the meat in the fridge for later use) and throw the bones and such back into the crock pot along with the giblets you saved from earlier and turn it on high. Cook this on high for a few hours then take out all the bones and strain the broth into a large bowl (I usually use a tea towel over a strainer to get the clearest broth possible). Put the broth into the fridge to cool. Now you have lots of cooked chicken and chicken broth waiting to be made into yummy meals. The last time I did this I managed to get 3 meals out of the meat with broth left in the freezer for future meals. The meals I got were:

Curried Chicken Lettuce Wraps
Chicken Noodle Soup
Chicken and Broccoli Braid (I made a half batch for the kids and I)

You could also use the cooked chicken to make my cheesy chicken and rice casserole or in place of the turkey in many of my turkey day take two recipes.

Slow Cooker Beef Stroganoff

I made this for my Dad this weekend and thought I would share the recipe here. I originally got this out of a Betty Crocker Slow Cooker cookbook many years ago.

Beef Stroganoff

2 lbs beef stew meat
1 large onion
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can cream of celery soup
8 oz fresh sliced mushrooms, sauteed
1/4 tsp pepper
1 8 oz package cream cheese, cubed
1 8 oz container sour cream
6 cups hot cooked egg noodles

Mix beef, onions, soups and pepper in a crock pot
Cover and cook on low for 8-10 hours or until beef is very tender
Stir in cream cheese, sour cream and mushrooms. Serve over noodles.

Becky's notes: I used a roast that I had gotten cheap and cut into small cubes, I didn't have cream of mushroom or cream of celery so I just used 2 cans of cream of chicken soup and it tasted just fine. I did not add the pepper since I don't like pepper. Before adding the sour cream and cream cheese turn the crock pot up to high so that the cream cheese will melt better. Rather than cubing the cream cheese I just left it out all day so it was at room temperature before I added it to the crock pot this made it so that the cream cheese melted nicely rather than leaving chunks behind which has happened before. I used a 4 quart crock pot which was a good size for this.

Turkey Day Take Two, 2010 version

Since the kids were at their dad's for Thanksgiving this year I took advantage of the hospitality of my friends an relatives rather than cooking. I did make cranberry sauce though and like every other year I was the only one eating it. No worries I had plans for the leftovers. This morning I made up a batch of cranberry bread. I changed the recipe slightly by mixing the cranberry sauce in with the batter rather than layering it like the recipe instructs. It did not work out too well, the bread looks terrible and didn't rise like it should, fortunately it still tastes good. For the rest of the cranberry sauce I plan on making up a batch of slow cooker meatballs. To save time (and so I could have meatballs in the freezer) I just made up a big batch of meatballs and set aside enough mixture for tomorrow's dinner. Here is the meatball recipe I used:

Basic Meatballs:

1lb ground beef
2 TBSP milk
1 egg
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup onion finely minced
1/3 C dry bread crumbs
1/3 C Parmesan cheese
1 clove garlic finely minced
1/2 tbsp parsley
3/4 tsp salt

Mix all ingredients together, shape into balls (I find the medium pampered chef scoop works great for this) Bake in a 400 degree oven for 20 minutes.

I also have another recipe that would be perfect for leftover turkey, but that I am making with chicken I cooked the other day. This is one my friend Suzy gave me a while back. I will give you the basic chicken recipe, but you could modify it by using leftover turkey and adding some of the spices to that when you mix it with the cheese and enchilada sauce.

Chicken Enchiladas ala Jessica

Ingredients:
1 – fryer chicken
2 – 15 oz can STOKE’s Green Chili w/ Pork Enchilada Sauce*
salt
pepper
cumin powder
garlic powder
onion powder
12 oz (3 cups) mozzarella cheese, shredded
8 oz (2 cups) Colby-jack cheese, shredded
12 flour tortillas (8”)
Directions:
1. Place whole fryer in crock pot. Cover with water. Add A LOT of all dry spices**.
Cover and cook chicken in crock pot at low heat for 6-10 hours.
2. Remove chicken and cool so it is finger-touchable. Shred all the meat.
3. In a bowl, place the shredded meat. Add about 1 ½ cups broth from the crock pot.
Mix more of all dry spices into chicken until it suits your tastes. Add one can of
enchilada sauce, plus all mozzarella cheese. Mix well. Taste again. Add more
spices if necessary.
4. Preheat oven to 350 F.
5. If your pans need it, butter them (seasoned stoneware won’t need to be greased).
Pour a little enchilada sauce in the bottom of the pan(s)***.
6. Roll chicken mixture in tortillas. Place, seam side down in pan.
7. Once all enchiladas are rolled, cover with remaining sauce. Sprinkle Colby-jack
cheese on top.
8. Cover with foil.
9. Bake 23 minutes, then remove foil and continue baking 8 minutes more.
10. Remove from oven and let sit about 10 minutes before serving.
6-9 Servings

Suzy’s Notes:
** You may use fresh garlic cloves (2-3) and onion (½ – whole) in the crock pot in the
place of dried powders of the same.
*** I put a dozen enchiladas in two pans (9x9 or 9x13).

Variations:
1. Add green chili peppers.
2. Add scallions.
3. Add black olives.
4. Add sour cream (in mix or on top).
5. Substitute leftover turkey for the chicken, add a little more seasoning if desired.
6. Cut tortillas into strips then layer like a lasagna casserole instead of rolling.

Yummy dinner salad

I recently bought a new cutting board from Pampered Chef and this salad recipe came with it. All three of us really enjoyed it, plus it used up a bunch of the Bountiful Baskets produce that I had in the fridge.

Southwestern Salad

Dressing

¾ cup ranch dressing

1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and finely chopped

2 tsp taco seasoning

1 Tbsp lime juice

Salad

½ cup pitted ripe olives, sliced

1 cup diced red bell pepper

1 pkg torn romaine lettuce

1 cup black beans, drained and rinsed

½ cup whole kernel corn

2 cups diced cooked chicken

1 ripe avocado, peeled, seeded and diced (optional)

For dressing combine first 4 ingredients, stir until well blended. Refrigerate until ready to use.

For salad combine remaining ingredients. Pour dressing over salad and toss to combine.

Of course being me I had to change things a bit. I didn't use olives since I don't like them, but did add chopped tomatoes and shredded cheese. Rather than combining everything I put everything in separate bowls and let everyone choose what the wanted. Lastly Alex had regular ranch on his salad, Abbie had no dressing at all and I really enjoyed the dressing from the recipe. One note on the dressing is that I feel it really needs to sit for several hours before using so that the flavors can combine.

Playdough

After dinner tonight the kids were asking for something to do so I suggested that they play with play dough. They are playing with homemade play dough that I made using this recipe. I made this months ago and in between uses it lives in old cool whip containers in the fridge. This was a quick, easy and cheap recipe to make and has stayed fresh way longer than I thought it would.

Turkey Day Take 2, Part 3

Today I had several friends over for a sewing and craft day. It was great fun and I hope that we can do it again soon. This morning before everyone got here I put on a pot of White Chili and let it simmer all day. When it came time for dinner all I had to do was put out bowls and some cheese for everyone to grate on top of their soup. No pictures today since I was having too much fun sewing and hanging out with friends.

I think I am about ready to freeze what is left of the turkey so there might not be any more Turkey Day Take 2 posts. I've done pretty good at using up the leftovers though. All the mashed potatoes are gone, the broth is gone, the pumpkin cake is gone, and there is only a little cranberry sauce left and some stuffing.

White Chili

3 cans Great Northern Beans
4 cups cooked chicken or turkey, chopped
1 T olive oil
2 medium onions, chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 (4oz) cans chopped mild green chilies
2 tsp ground cumin
1 1/2 tsp dried oregano, crumbled
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1 (46oz) can chicken broth
12 oz shredded Montery Jack Cheese

Saute onions about 10 min, add garlic, chilies and spices, cook 2 more minutes, add undrained beans and broth and bring to a boil, reduce heat and add chicken. Top individual servings with cheese.

Notes: I have used a 1# bag of dried beans instead of the canned. I soak them over night and then cook the chili all day on low in the crock pot. Today I used the last of the turkey broth instead of canned broth. If you want more heat you can add a finely minced jalapeno pepper.

Turkey Day Take 2, Part 2

I have heard of potato pancakes for years, but have never made them or even tried them. Since I had leftover mashed potatoes I decided to try to make them. I searched the internet for recipes and found this one which I modified (don't I always?).

Loaded Mashed Potato Pancakes

approx 2 C mashed potatoes (I use cream cheese in my mashed potatoes)
1 egg
1/4 C flour
1/2 C shredded cheese (I used marble cheddar)
2 T chopped onions
5 slices bacon

Fry bacon in skillet, drain bacon on paper towels then chop or crumble into small pieces.
In bacon drippings saute onions until translucent.
Combine mashed potatoes, egg, flour, cheese, cooked onions and bacon and mix until combined.
Using large scoop scoop out potato mix and flatten with wet hands (about 1/4" or so thick).
Fry in bacon drippings until brown and crispy on both sides, drain on paper towels.
Serve with sour cream.

They might not look great but I assure you they were! They tasted like potato skins that you get in restaurants. The kids liked them too. Best of all the leftover mashed potatoes are now gone.

Turkey Day Take 2, Part 1

Yesterday I made sure to clean up as I went and that I had an empty dishwasher before dinner began. Even so I was left with a big mess this morning.

I know that the big dilemma from Turkey day is what to do with the leftovers. So to give you ideas (and to remind myself next year) I am going to post some recipes of what I am doing with the leftovers. First of all, last night I took all the turkey off the bird and threw the bones, skin, and the giblets that I had saved into my crock pot. I covered it all with water and let it cook all night. This morning I used tongs to pull out the bones and big pieces and then strained the broth into a large container that I put in the fridge.

This morning I made cranberry bread using leftover cranberry sauce. I modified the recipe from this one.

Cranberry Bread

1/2 C butter
1 C white sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
Zest of 1 orange finely minced
2 C all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 C plain yogurt
1 C Cranberry sauce

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees, Grease and flour bread pan

2. In a large bowl cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in vanilla and orange zest. Combine four, baking powder, baking soda and salt, stir into creamed mixture alternately with the yogurt.

3. Pour 1/3 of batter into pan swirl 1/2 of the cranberry sauce into the batter. Repeat ending with the batter on top.

4. Bake 55 minutes, until golden brown.

After I finished making the bread I put a pot of turkey noodle soup on the stove to simmer. I used the broth I made this morning, I chopped up the leftover carrot and celery sticks and extra chopped onions that I cut when making the stuffing. I'll let the soup simmer all morning and I'll put the noodles in right before we are ready to eat.

Thomas Sholar's Chicken and Rice Soup (or chicken noodle or turkey noodle)

1 1/2 C chopped cooked chicken
1 C chopped carrots
1 C chopped celery
1/2 C chopped onion
2 T dried parsley
2 tsp chicken flavor base
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
10 C vegetable broth (I used the turkey broth I made this morning, I also don't add all 10 cups, I like mine with less liquid)
Salt to taste
3/4 C rice or 1 cup orecchiette pasta

Combine all ingredients, bring to boil, cover and simmer at least 45 minutes, add noodles or rice shortly before serving (go by package cooking times).

Happy Thanksgiving!

The kids and I are having dinner at my house with H and her family this year. The turkey is in the oven and the kitchen is clean. Just waiting 'til dinner time.

Here is a cranberry sauce recipe that I made this year:

Cranberry Sauce

1lb fresh cranberries
2 C sugar
1/2 C fresh OJ
1/2 C cranberry juice
Zest of 1 orange
1C dried cherries

Rinse, pick over cranberries and drain
Put all ingredients except cherries in a sauce pan on medium heat, boil until cranberries pop
Skim off any foam
Stir in cherries
Refigerate covered when cool

Make ahead, can freeze.

Enjoy!

For Suzy

My friend Suzy was asking me for this recipe so I decided to post it here for all to enjoy. The ironic thing is that I have been thinking about this recipe a lot lately myself and just bought a jar of chili sauce at the store in anticipation of making this up soon.

Slow Cooker Meatballs (originally from Cooking Light)

1 1/2 pounds extra lean ground beef
1 cup dry bread crumbs
1/2 cup egg substitute
1/3 cup fresh parsley
2 T minced fresh onion
1/3 cup ketchup
2 T brown sugar
1 T lemon juice
1 16 oz can jellied cranberry sauce
1 12 ounce bottle chili sauce (it near the ketchup at the store)

Combine first 5 ingredients in a large bowl; shape mixture into 30 meatballs.

Combine ketchup through chili sauce in an electric slow cooker; gently stir in meatballs. Cover with lid, cook on low heat setting for 8 to 10 hours.

Serve over egg noodles or rice.

Aunt Martha's Banana bread

Here is my favorite Banana Bread recipe:

2 1/2 C flour
1 2/3 C sugar
1 1/4 tsp baking powder
1 1/4 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2/3 C soft shortening (I use butter or margarine)
2/3 C buttermilk (or just add 1 tsp vinegar to the milk)
1 1/4 C mashed bananas (approx 3)
3 eggs
2/3 C nuts (optional)

Grease and flour the pan. Mix together 1st 5 ingredients add shortening buttermilk and mashed bananas beat 2 min. Add eggs then fold in nuts Bake 350 degrees for 35 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

*My notes: I always have lots of overripe bananas for making bread because when a banana goes bad before it gets eaten I just throw the whole thing in the freezer for when I want to make bread. This bread always takes more than 35 minutes in my pans, up to an hour sometimes, just keep checking it. I like to sprinkle the top with a little sugar before baking to give it a nice crust when baked.*

Chinese Fried Rice

I have tried several fried rice recipes over the years and was never greatly impressed. I tried a new one tonight and it was great. This makes a filling, cheap main dish meal. I used leftover white rice that I had cooked in chicken stock (homemade), some cubed cooked chicken I had in the freezer from some really cheap chicken I got a while back and veggies. Here is the recipe. I changed it a little (because I always do). I omitted the green onions (don't like them) and bean sprouts (didn't have any) but added about a tsp of chopped fresh garlic and about a quarter cup of finely diced yellow bell pepper. I also didn't do the egg in step 4 like it said, but I moved the chicken/veggie mixture to the sides of the pan after step 5 then poured the eggs in the center and stirred them until they were mostly cooked and then stirred them into the chicken/veggie mixture.

Alex asked to see what I was making for dinner tonight and when I showed him his face lit up and he said yumm! The best part is that there was enough left over to put some in the freezer for another meal.

Cheesy Chicken and Rice

Costco sells a chicken and rice casserole by Milton's and it is very good but a bit greasy. Since I liked it so much I set out to make my own version at home. I did some searching on the internet and found a recipe online that was close, but of course I have changed it a bit.

Cheesy Chicken and Rice

1 12oz can evaporated skimmed milk
1 5oz can evaporated milk
4oz cream cheese softened
1 10 3/4 oz can cream of chicken soup
1/2 tsp garlic powder
10oz frozen peas
2 cups cubed cooked chicken
1 1/2 cups instant brown rice
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese (I use Walmart Mexican blend)


Preheat oven to 350 deg. grease 9x13 baking dish
Combine everything but shredded cheddar cheese in baking dish(make sure to mix the cream cheese in well or you will have lumps of cream cheese after the dish is cooked)
Cover with foil and bake for 35 minutes, remove cover and top with cheese (I like to give everything a good stir before putting the cheese on). Continue baking uncovered for 10-15 minutes until cheese is melted and mixture is bubbly. Let stand for 5 minutes before serving.

This makes a pretty good sized pan but the leftovers are usually pretty good. Next time I think I might split it into two smaller pans and freeze one. I'll let you know how it turns out.

A couple new recipes to share

I have been craving Pad Thai lately, so I got online and found a recipe for Pad Thai with chicken and shrimp. On the 4th I thought about going out and getting the stuff to make it, but I procrastinated long enough that I ended up just going to Walmart to buy the ingredients to make a Vietnamese Sandwich. I got to tell you that both recipes are seriously delicious. Both recipes call for chili garlic sauce, but I used two different kinds. For the sandwich I used sweet chili garlic sauce and for the pad thai I used a savory chili garlic sauce. One change that I made to the Pad Thai recipe was that I used way less meat than called for. I used one thinly sliced chicken breast and 1/3 lb of shrimp that I cut in half. This was plenty of meat. The Pad Thai was not cheap to make (approx $17) but it made a huge batch and the two most expensive ingredients I have enough left over to make several more batches.

Spinach Salad with Warm Bacon Dressing

My friend S blogged about recipezaar the other day and it made me browse their site. Since the spinach was doing so well I decided to make a spinach salad. It turned out very yummy! I unfortunately didn't take a picture of the spinach before we inhaled it. The kids love spinach, I know how good it's for the kids so that makes me happy.

Deciding on a new project

Tonight I finished a black and batik top that I was making as a Christmas present (I'll try to get some pictures tomorrow). I have decided to have it longarmed so other than picking up some backing fabric, it is completed for now. I have spent at least the last hour trying to decide what to work on next. I have a bunch of UFO's that need to be completed, but I am feeling compelled to work on something new. There are two projects that I am contemplating, Bonnie's mystery quilt and Crazy Mom Quilt's quilt-a-long. I think that I just came to the realization that since these both are quilts in installments there is no reason that I can't work on both at the same time. I also have in my mind a scrapbook/memory quilt for our travels using 3", 6", 9" and 12" blocks. I need to go to the copy store and reduce some patterns before I can start on that. I also need to work on the pay it forward challenge gifts that I committed to in July.

Tonight for dinner we had Lasagna Soup, a recipe from Cuisine at Home. I love to make soups for dinner in the winter and this is one of my favorite soup recipes. Bulk Italian sausage has even become a staple in my freezer so that I can make this soup whenever I get a craving.

Aunt Jean's Wassail

A few years ago when visiting Joe's Aunt Jean in Missouri she made Wassail for us. I loved it and I am not a fan of hot drinks. I have made it a couple of times since then for my family and the other day my mom was asking for the recipe. I thought I would share it with you.

Wassail

2 quarts apple juice
2 Cups orange juice
2 1/4 Cup pineapple juice
1 Cup lemon juice
1/2 Cup sugar
1 cinnamon stick
1 teaspoon cloves

Simmer covered for 20 minutes, then simmer uncovered for an additional 20 minutes, strain and serve warm.

Enjoy!