Femme Frugal

Just wanted to share a find and an idea for anyone trying to make the grocery budget stretch a little further:

Extra foods has recently been offering a big box of frozen chicken legs for $10-something. They have the back attached, skin on and there are about 20 pieces in the box. I've just cooked up a big box using the following method and it looks to me like I'm going to get 4 meals plus a bit of leftovers for my $10.

Thaw chicken in fridge or under cold water.
Divide into three portions.

Portion #1 - Roasted Chicken Legs
I put 8 legs in my large roaster, seasoned the pieces and roasted until thoroughly cooked.
I made gravy with the drippings and we had a good sized meal (potatoes & peas) plus one left over lunch. If you don't eat the skin, it slides off easily.

I cooked these guys while I prepped the other two dishes, and just kept them in the fridge until the oven was available for the next shift.


Portion #2 - Orange Chicken Legs (or any other saucy chicken)
Using 6 legs in a 9 x 13 glass dish, and used this recipe http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Super-Orange-Chicken/Detail.aspx. Once this cooked and cooled, I popped it in the freezer for another time.

Portion #3- Mexican Chicken & Soup
Put 6 legs in a 9x13 glass pan, sprinkle cumin, chili, taco seasoning and dried cilantro on top. Bake until thoroughly cooked. Cool in pan and then refrigerated. The next day I pulled the skin off and threw it out. I pulled off the easy-access meat and put it in one bowl, while the bones and remaining meat went into a pot for soup stock.

I ended up with 3 cups of cooked chicken, which I coursely chopped and am saving for tonight o make "Flautas". Here's a recipe http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Chicken-Flautas/Detail.aspx... but I'm using flour tortillas (cuz corn tortillas make me gag) and I'm going to bake them instead of fry them... but you get the idea. You could also use the meat for Fajitas, Chicken enchilladas, chicken tacos... whatever your little Mexican tastebuds desire.

I have the soup simmering right now... just making a basic chicken soup... the mexican flavor will be very mild since i'm not using any skin, just the bone and the neighboring meat.

A little chicken broth tip: If you're like me and don't want mushy veggies in your soup, you can add a coupel of whole carrots, quartered tomatoes (or a can of diced ones), whole celery leaves, lemongrass (try it...sooo good!) and let it all simmer together for a couple of hours. Strain the broth, pick out the meat and throw out all the veggies. THEN you can throw in the fresh chopped carrots, celery, spinach, peas... etc. and cook until desired tenderness. The soup still has all the flavor but the veggies have their fresh color.

So, there you have it... 4 meals worth of meat for $10. And one mess, about 1 hour in the kitchen total.

We'd like to draw your attention to....

this AMAZING blog with intersting, simple recipes, weight watchers calculations and gorgeous, inspiring photos. I could look at it all day. Drooling.

http://weight-watchers-points-recipes.blogspot.com/