Chicken Meal Planning

As promised, here are some ideas on how to buy chicken in bulk and organize your meals ahead . You can easily incorporate your own ideas and meals that you already make.

What I propose is to check out meat sales and buy four fresh whole chickens if you don’t mind doing some chopping OR:

- a couple of rotisserie chickens

- a tray or two of fresh chicken breasts (I prefer fresh chicken breasts rather than flash frozen - which are often times infused with water and salt)

- a tray or two of legs and thighs

Now, you will need a couple of hours to do some prep and you are set. Like I said, you can purchase pre-cut chicken pieces OR be brave and disjoint a couple of fresh whole chickens yourself. Click here on how to cut up a chicken. Sometimes a whole chicken doesn’t cost any more that two chicken breasts, and you end up with a lot of bonus pieces.

Organizing Your Meals:

1. Roast two chickens in a large black roaster or heavy pot for 1 1/2 -2 hours. For roasting directions go here. You can enjoy one for dinner the same day and use the leftovers to shred or cut into cubes. Divide into servings for your family and freeze in zip lock bags. One – two cups is enough for most recipes. Some examples of meals you can make with your roast chicken pkgs are chicken crepes, enchiladas, pizza, quesadillas, casseroles etc.

2. If you cut up your own chickens, you will have the backbones and breast bones to make soup or stock for a couple of meals. I simply cover the pieces with cold water, add spices, some salt and simmer it for about 1 ½ hours. You can also add chopped onion, celery and carrots for flavor and pour the broth through a strainer at the end. (a guide to use as to spices etc., is Lovella's Chicken Noodle Soup) When finished cooking, remove the meat from the bones and add it to one jar of stock for chicken noodle soup. If you pour hot broth into, say, spaghetti jars with rubber seals, they will re-seal and will keep in the fridge for several weeks. A plain broth can be used in any soup recipe.
Note: when you refrigerate the broth, any fat will float to the top and harden. This is good because it can then be easily removed before re-heating. Also, if the broth gels, it's a sign of a good broth and will disperse when heated.

3. Divide chicken breasts into zip-lock bags to freeze. I find that two chicken breasts are good for most stir fries. Dividing them that way, you can always thaw as many pkgs as needed.
Some examples of how you might use fresh boneless chicken breasts are: Thai Stir fry, fajitas, (I use Club House or Sun Bird seasoning packages) chicken chili, chicken mushroom sauce etc.

4. Next, divide the thighs, drumsticks and wings into one or two pkgs to freeze. These can be used for chicken with anise seed, orange glazed chicken, (which I will post sometime soon) or any sauce or bread coating of your choice, and baked in the oven.

This plan allows for one roast chicken dinner, two or three meals using pre-cooked cubed chicken, a meal or two of soup, two meals using chicken breasts and a meal or two using legs and wings etc. About nine meals for a family of four at the cost of four chickens and whatever you add to them.