Bulk cooking: Chicken: Jan 2012

Another Zaycon chicken order, but only 80 lbs this time.  I really didn't have the energy for even 2 boxes, but these meals rescue me from dinner prep so often that I can't afford to run out!

Instead of having one long, "Just do it" session, I broke it down.  We did one box Friday and one box Saturday.  With 3 people working, it took less than an hour per box.

Person 1 trims the fat and cut the breast in half, using kitchen shears.  Person 2 slices off the tender then fillets the breast.  Person 3 labels and fills freezer bags.  Voila!  Done.

I kept it simple this time, relying on prepared sauces instead of making everything from scratch.  Here's the breakdown of meals:

• 20 lbs cooked, chopped chicken, for salad, pizza, tossing with pasta, etc., 7 bags total
• 4 trays, 10 fillets each, parmesan chicken
• 5 bags BBQ sauce chicken
• 4 bags Creamy cesar chicken
• 4 bags Honey Chipotle chicken (recipe below)
• 4 bags diced, raw chicken for soups and stir frys

28 meals for a family of 9 =  ~2.86# per meal at $1.69 per lb. = an average meat cost of $4.82 per meal. ($0.54 per person) My goal for dinner is to keep the total cost under $15. ($1.67 per person). So this leaves plenty of room in the budget for side dishes and the sauces I used on the chicken.

(When I posted this to Facebook, I forgot to include the cooked chicken in my total.)

Honey Chipotle Chicken

3 cups prepared salsa

1 cup honey

1 chipotle pepper in adobo sauce

Blend all ingredients together in the blender. This will make ~4 cups sauce.  Add it to fresh chicken before freezing.  I add 1/2 cup sauce for each pound of chicken. Label and freeze.

To prepare, thaw overnight in the refrigerator. Dump the chicken into a large casserole dish and cook for ~45 min at 350 F. OR using tongs, carefully retrieve the chicken from the bag and lay it flat on a rimmed cookie sheet.  Discard remaining sauce. Cook for 45 min at 350. (The 2nd method results in a nicer presentation.)

Using a sharpie, I label my bags with the name of the recipe, the date and either the number of fillets (F) or the weight of the tenders (T).

For example:

Honey Chipotle chicken

1/29/12                   10F

or

BBQ Chicken

1/29/12                   3.5# T

The point of this post is to emphasize that putting up a batch of meals isn't all that time consuming or difficult.

Any questions about the process?  or anything else? Do you have a go-to recipe for OAMC chicken?  What about ground beef?  (I pick up 40# this Saturday and need to get organized!)

*This post may contain affiliate links which support this blog. Thank you!

Honey Curry Chicken

The original recipe I have for Honey Curry Chicken was from a lovely midwife named Laurie; it was for roasting a whole chicken with veggies, but I prefer the no-fuss, make-ahead magic that this version provides.

Ingredients:
4     lbs    chicken breast fillets
1    cup    honey
1/2 cup    yellow mustard
1/4 cup    onion, chopped
1/4 cup    olive oil
4    tsp     curry
1    tsp     garlic salt
1/2 tsp     ginger, ground
1    tsp     crushed red pepper flakes (adjust for your family's heat tolerance)

If you are bulk-cooking, measure the ingredients into a labeled, gallon ziploc bag. Add the chicken and squish the bag to evenly distribute the sauce.  Squeeze all the air out of the bag, seal and lay flat to freeze.

Defrost overnight in the refrigerator or use the cold water bath method to get the job done more quickly.  (As long as you can free the chicken from the bag and get it into the pan, it is okay to stick it in the oven partially frozen; it will just take a little longer to cook.  In that case I would wait a bit before adding the veggies.)

Dump the contents of the bag into a roasting pan or large casserole dish. Cook @ 350 for about an hour.

I usually put the lid on my big enamelware roasting pan because it allows me to ignore the chicken without fear of shoe leather for dinner, but if you are the type who remembers to use a timer- uncovered should be just fine.

I prepare this with an assortment of vegetables (yams, carrots, potatoes, brussells sprouts, garlic cloves, onion) cooking alongside the chicken. Occasionally, I will add some granny smith apple quarters to the vegetables, but even if you just served this over rice, it is a tasty, warming dinner perfect for these dreary February days.

Bulk cooking: Chicken

Several of you already know that I purchased 120 pounds of chicken from Zaycon Foods last week.  I find that I love getting chicken this way- when it is fresh, it is so much easier to just get the job done.

Just before the last chicken event, Frugal Living NW hosted a giveaway for the ebook 40 Simple Ways to Use 40 Pounds of Chicken- and I won a copy!  It is well laid out and makes "dealing with" so much chicken simple.  I am not new to bulk cooking for the freezer, but this e-book and a 40 lb. case of chicken from Zaycon Foods would be a great way to start.

Here is the process I followed this time. (I am already brainstorming ways to streamline even further.)

Wednesday
Finalize menu plan and draft grocery list using Advantage Cooking recipe software.

Thursday
Morning: SHOP

Afternoon: Prepare marinades, measuring ingredients directly into the labeled ziploc baggies.  I also prepared the bread crumb mixtures for Almond Chicken and Parmesan Chicken.

Friday
Morning: Make a pot of coffee and wait for my husband to return home with the chicken.

9:30 am Ready, set, GO! Madelyn and I worked as a team.  She separated and trimmed the breasts of fat.  I filleted them and put them into the waiting ziploc bags.

We immediately put the contents of one 10 lb bag in my covered roasting pan and popped it into a 325 oven. Then we ignored it for several hours while we worked on the dishes requiring raw chicken.

My goal was 4 lbs of meat per meal. I have a baby scale, tray style, that I use in my midwifery practice that occasionally gets dragged into kitchen duty.  A kitchen scale is much more flexible because it doesn't lock onto a weight but will keep up with you as you add weight.  Since my scale isn't that sophisticated, I had to weigh each bag with marinade before I added any chicken, mentally note the weight, and then check the weight again when I thought I was close to 4 pounds of chicken, then add or subtract as necessary and check again.  (Yes, a kitchen scale is on my wish list.)

If you have ever tried filling ziploc bags, you know that they just aren't the most cooperative container out there.  I find that an empty #10 can is the perfect bag holder.  Just make sure that the edges aren't ragged from your can opener. My children were not sad to be asked to empty a can of peaches just so I could use the can.

For dishes, like Parmesan Chicken, that I don't want to get all smooshed in a bag I used Full Size Foil Steam Table Pans and Formed Steam Table Pan Lids that I purchased from Cash-n-Carry.  The cost was less than $2.00 per meal.  Our family is now at a size when I have to use several pans to feed us all at once.  I don't have enough glass pans to use for freezing and the since I need 2 half size pans, I find this solution almost as economical as buying pans Dollar Tree and certainly easier. Since I bulk cook for convenience as well as frugality, this works for me.

We stopped to clean up at 12:15 since I had to leave for an appointment at 1 pm.  At that time, all of the raw chicken was trimmed, sliced, portioned into bags and stacked carefully in the freezer.  I took the chicken out of the oven  and left it too cool.  Upon returning from my appointment, it was simple enough to shred the chicken and portion it into the remaining bags.  We're talking 10 minutes, tops.

In the end, Madelyn and I (with a little help from Bryan) put up 30 meals in approximately 3.5 hours, even with interruptions from uncooperative toddlers.

My freezer now holds:

2 Honey Curry Chicken
3 Parmesan Chicken
2 Almond Chicken*
5 BBQ Chicken**
2 Thai Chicken Satay*
2 Soy Thyme*
2 Chipotle Chicken*
4 Teriyaki Chicken**
4 Sweet Salsa Dump Chicken
2 Chicken Fajita Burritos Filling*
2 plain, shredded chicken

* from the 40 Simple Ways to Use 40 Pounds of Chicken ebook from Frugal Living NW.
**not homemade


(The links to the ebook and Amazon are affiliate links.  I earn a small commission from each sale.  Thank you for supporting my blog and my family!)

Carmelized Squash Risotto

Ingredients (for a large batch):

2 butternut squash (peeled, seeded and cut into 1" cubes)
1 large onion, large dice
1 head garlic, peeled and separated into cloves

kosher salt
extra virgin olive oil

3 cups rice
1/2 cup white wine
6-7 cups chicken broth
6 cups cooked, chopped chicken
1 tsp curry
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
salt and pepper

We consider the following ingredients optional for our dairy-sensitive family:
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
1/2 cup milk

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Toss squash, onion and garlic with enough olive oil to lightly coat. Spread on a baking sheet and pop in the oven for 40 minutes.

Meanwhile, over medium heat, coat the bottom of a dutch oven with olive oil. Add the rice. Stir to coat the rice with the oil. Add the wine and stir until absorbed. Turn the heat to med-high. Add between 1 and 2 cups of chicken broth. Bring to a fast simmer and stir until the liquid is abosorbed. Add more broth and, again, stir until the rice has absorbed the liquid. Continue until you have 1 cup of broth left to add. With the final addition of broth, add the chicken, curry and pepper flakes. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 15 min, or until rice is tender. Add milk and parmesan. Salt and pepper to taste.

At the end of the vegetable cooking time, they should be tender and lightly carmelized. Transfer the veggies into the rice mixture, toss gently to distribute them evenly and serve.

Garnish with additional parmesan and sesame seeds.

Tomato Soup

Soup. Ah, soup. The wonderful food of winter months!

I have been working on my recipe for almost-dairy-free "cream" of tomato soup. I think we are getting somewhere, so here is version 1.0 for your enjoyment. Of course, feel free to use milk if you aren't doing the dairy-free thing at your place. In fact, if you eat dairy- consider adding 8 oz cream cheese, cubed, just before serving. Mmm.

You'll notice that I do use butter. That small amount doesn't affect our kids. I will most likely continue tweaking the recipe, watch for possible updates.

Tomato Soup
12 generous servings (We all ate at least a bowl for lunch and there were still 2 servings left.)

1/4 cup butter
1 cup onions
1 TBS garlic, minced
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 cup flour
1 quart rice milk (or almond, or soy)
1 1/2 quart tomato sauce (1/2 of a #10 can, Costco $2.75)
1/2 tsp salt
dash pepper
2 cups water
1 tsp chicken base (or sub. 2 cup chicken broth for water)

In a dutch oven, saute onions in butter over medium heat. After 2 min., add garlic and red pepper flakes. Once the garlic becomes fragrant, stir in the 1/4 cup flour. Stir quickly until the mixutre appears coated with the butter/flour combination. Slowly add 2 cups of the milk, stirring vigorously the entire time. Once the milk is well combined, remove from heat and allow to cool for approx. 5 min. Transfer mixture to blender and blend until smooth. (If you have an immersion blender, you can skip this step and blend in the pot.) Return to pot and add the tomato sauce, S & P, water and chicken base. Heat through and serve.

Soup Day

After reading this post at my friend's blog, I thought I would share a new-to-me soup recipe.

Soup is a staple of our winter mealtimes. We might eat soup three or more times each week. Casseroles were a mainstay before we cut dairy from our diets. Casseroles and anything with cheese. I miss cheese. After we cut dairy, we became a meat and salad family. The downfall there is that meat is expensive, not to mention full of nasty hormones and chemicals. (Organic meat isn't really in the budget right now.) Salad is all very fine, but it does tend to grow slimy in the refrigerator. Enter soup. The miracle food.

From the most mundane ingredients in my pantry, I can whip up delicious, dairy free soups of almost infinite variety. Here is a list of our favorites:

"Cream" of Tomato (I use almond milk.)

Sweet Potato Peanut Butter

Split Pea (without ham. Gavin can make this one from scratch!)

Dal Shorva (Indian lentil soup)

White Bean with Sausage (I make "kosher" sausage out of ground poultry.)

Mara's Famous Cauliflower Soup (I think it is clear who makes this soup! She adapted this into her very own recipe.)

You see? Lots of variety here! The kids know that soup means comfort and love. Tonight our soup was like a dose of winter sunshine. I learned this recipe from my pal Kaley. Before watching her prepare this soup, I would have written it off as "too labor intensive". Nothing could be farther from the truth. There are many steps listed here, but each one is easy and quick. There is a bunch of wait time, though, so plan ahead. You'll need to start this an hour and a half before you want to eat.

Winter Sunshine Soup

1 butternut squash (acorn would work perfectly fine)
3 onions, sliced
2 TBS vegetable oil (I used olive.)
2 TBS brown sugar
1/8 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp curry (adjust for personal preference or use nutmeg)
6 small potatoes, diced
6 cups broth (chicken or vegetable)
1 can (14 oz) coconut milk

1. Turn oven to 350. Rinse the squash. Stick it in the oven for a hour and forget about it.

2. In a dutch oven, heat oil over med. heat. Add onions, sugar, pepper and curry. Reduce heat and cook for 30 minutes, stirring once or twice. The goal is to caramelize the onions.

3. Add the diced potatoes to the onion mixture and cover.

4. Remove the squash from the oven. Slice off each end. Cut into 2 halves and scoop the seedy pulp out. Turn onto the cut sides, then peel the rind from the squash. It should come away easily.

5. Chop the squash into 1 - 2" cubes. Add to the onion and potato mixture.

6. Add the broth and coconut milk. Cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes or until the potatoes are tender.

7. Turn heat off. Let stand for a couple of minutes to cool slightly. Process the soup through the blender in batches. (It takes 3 batches to get this recipe through my blender.) Have a large bowl ready to catch the blended soup that comes out of your blender.

8. Eat and enjoy! Tonight we served the soup with whole wheat bread squares. (Simply slices of bread cut into bit size squares. Sprinkle a handful on top of the soup and VOILA- toddler-spoon friendly soup!