Friday, January 9, 2009

Frugal Chicken Tips




I know this is not original, but I think it bears repeating.







We are committed to buying only organic, free range chickens. Which, by the way, is not cheap! Especially for a large family. So we make the absolute most we can out of them.





We have two sources. One, a wonderful local farmer. Two, the grocery store that carries the next best thing, BUT, puts them on sale half off the day before their sell by date!





Frugal Chicken Tip # 1


  • check the store to see when the sell by date is and go buy all you can, double bag and freeze. Just don't do it at my store;)

Frugal Chicken Tip #2

  • Roast not only that meals worth but also another to save money heating the oven.


We have roast chicken every Sunday for dinner, I make extra to use for leftovers on Tuesday. My meal plan has Tuesday as 'leftover chicken' day. (Anything that calls for cooked chicken)

Sunday after dinner I 'pick' the chicken and put the bones, carrots, onion, celery, water and 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar (to draw minerals from the bones) in my stock pot and put in fridge until morning. Refrigerate remaining chicken.





Frugal Tip # 3

  • Make delicious, good for you stock all day Monday. Cool and freeze in small containers.

Now you have incredibly nutritious stock to use all week instead of chemical laden bouillion cubes!





This is a great link on why homemade stock is so good for you.

Check out Biblical Womanhood for more Frugal tips!

Blessings!







5 comments:

Mom2fur said...

LOL, it sounds like you use everything but the cluck! I like to boil up the bones/carcass leftover from a roast chicken, too. Homemade broth is sooooo much yummier.
I learn something new every day, and you taught me today's new lesson: cook two birds with one oven! I never thought to do that. Brilliant idea!

Brooke said...

great idea - if i could just get passed the bones. they gross me out!

Kristen said...

great post - thanks for the link about broth, it was really informative!

busymomof10 said...

How do you even have leftovers when you roast a chicken? I would have to roast at least three chickens and then probably wouldn't have enough leftovers to do much with!! My Boys are Big Eaters! (I currently have 4 teenaged boys!) I like your plan though!! I am really looking for more frugal ideas for feeding my mega-family! :)

Michelle (She Looketh Well) said...

busymomof10, we either roast 2 five pound birds from our organic farmer friend or 3 of the teensy organic ones from our local store. Lately the leftovers have been a little sparse, but I will probably just add another chicken because I am only using the oven once still but getting two meals. I really do it this way because I feel the homemade stock is so important, the leftover chicken is an added blessing. Maybe I should post about why I feel the stock is so important??