Food Bytes: Getting to the Meat of the Matter

Part Two of my Food Bytes series about eating good food on a budget.  See here for the introduction and here for Part One.

Chicken: I could seriously eat chicken for every meal, but Andrew has more varied taste buds, even though he will eat it any way I cook it. (Isn’t he sweet?) That being said, I still buy chicken much more than I buy anything else.  To quote The Father of the Bride: We'll take the "chipper chicken."  

I'll buy whole fryer chickens, and cook them in water on the stovetop for a few hours. Then, I peel all the chicken off the bones, put the bones and other gunk back in the water, and let it cook for a few more hours.  At the end, I have several cups of chicken broth, and 4 meals worth of chicken per fryer.  I sometimes buy boneless, skinless chicken breasts, if they're on a really good sale, and I buy chicken legs for our favorite crockpot chicken recipe (see below). 

Cow:  Contrary to the commercials, at the Minion cottage, we say, "Beef, it's not for dinner tonight."  I buy one package of beef every two months or so, and make it stretch over several meals.  We had Philly Cheesesteak on a Stick the other night, and it was super good! (I got the recipe from the September issue of the Rachel Ray magazine, and just may have to post it here sometime.)

I only buy ground beef when I absolutely have to- for lasagna or tacos.  (For those of you who've only known me for about 3 days, I don't eat "ground" anything- even hamburger. Yes, I'm an American, why do you ask?  It's a texture thing, ok?)  

Other:  Hoping try out some pork recipes next time it's on sale, I'll have to let you know how that goes. 

Chicken in a Hurry Recipe

2-3 lbs skinless chicken drumsticks (I've used thighs as well)

2/4 cup ketchup

1/3 cup water

1/3 cup brown sugar

1 package dry onion soup mix

Arrange chicken in slow cooker.  Combine remaining ingredients and pour over chicken.  Cook on high 4-5 hours or on low 7-8 hours. 

Photo Credits: Chick fil a Cows and Beef Logo