Monday, January 9, 2012

3 Chicken Breasts = 3 + meals

Skin on, bone in Chicken Breasts were on sale in No Frills, so I picked up a pack of three breasts for just over $4.

Dh won't eat anything with a bone in it, so there is no use in just plopping one of these suckers fully cooked on his plate as he wouldn't touch it.  So decided to have a cooking session and make some meals from them.

First thing I did was take the skin off them, and pop them in a pan of water with some salt and pepper and poach them for around 40 minutes until they were cooked through.  Took them out of the pan and put them on a plate and tipped the cooking liquid in a jug.

In the same pan I put probably 2 or 3 tablespoons of margarine in there along with a couple of small onions chopped up.  Softened them and then added around 3/4 cup of brown rice.  Stirred them together and then added around 6 cups of the cooking liquid and brought to the boil and simmered for around 40 minutes.  I then added a cup or so of frozen corn and one of the chicken breasts that I had taken off the bone and chopped up.  Seasoned with salt, pepper and ground nutmeg, and added around a cup of half and half cream, and cooked a bit more.  There is one meal, plus a couple of lunches of Chicken, Corn and Rice soup.

In another pan I put around 4 tablespoons of margarine, let it melt and added 4 small onions chopped, and half a pound of mushrooms also chopped.  Let them soften up.  Meanwhile I cut up two bunches off broccoli and steamed them in the microwave for five minutes. I took 1/3 cup of flour and stirred it into onion and mushroom mixture and let it cook for a minute.

I then added in the remainder of the poaching liquid and the liquid from steaming the broccoli.  That made a thick sauce or roux.  I added the broccoli and the other two chicken breasts which I had taken off the bone and cut up.  I poured in a cup of half and half cream to lighten up the sauce and seasoned.

After the mixture had cooled I popped it in a Tupperware container and put it into the fridge.  This mixture is the base for a couple of meals.  I have some small pizza shells I got on clearance in the freezer.  I will put a little of this mixture on top of the pizza bases and top with a little mozzarella cheese and have those with salad.

I am going to make a chicken pot pie with some more of the chicken and broccoli mixture and add more vegetables to it, to stretch it and top with some puffed pastry I have in the freezer.  With the remainder I will thin the sauce out with some half and half cream and maybe add some peas and serve it over rice.

Overall I don't think that's too bad from three chicken breasts, do you?  I would think the cost of all these meals along with the accompaniments would be less than $20.

I put the bread maker on and made a loaf of whole wheat bread to go with the soup on Sunday night and it was yummy!!!  Left over bread will be used in sandwiches.

Menu Plan for the week:

Chicken, rice and sweet corn soup with homemade whole wheat bread

Chicken pizzas & salad

Chicken pot pie

Chicken and veggies over rice

Turkey soup (made from left over turkey carcass from Christmas)

Sausages, fries and beans

Cheese Omelette and salad

Dessert will be:

yogurt or cookies or gingerbread or ice cream

Breakfast for me will be cereal (Special K) and a cup of tea.

lunch for me will be leftovers or homemade turkey soup

8 comments:

Cindy@NorthofWiarton said...

You are so inventive, Gill. Love your flare !!!

beagleAnnie said...

All menus sound great, Gill. Your post made my mouth water.

Nancy said...

Did you hubby have a bad experience with a chicken bone? :)

Your meals look delicious! I didn't know they had No Frills in Canada. That's where I shop in Nebraska.

~Carla~ said...

I always learn so much from you! Great buy on the chicken breasts! My hubby doesn't like the bone-in either... Too "hard" to eat I guess... lol!!

Piece by Piece said...

My OH hated bones too.
Your chicken meals sound great, and at a bargin price too.
Enjoy.
Patricia

Debby said...

Oh my gosh, I am now going to have to go find something to eat!! Your chicken meals have made me hungry. What a great deal you found on chicken, it's sky high here

Maggie said...

I need to take a tip from you and meal plan more!

Rose said...

Gill, you are an inspiration...I wish i was half so talented in the kitchen. I feel like I am so boring in the cooking dept.

What are your thoughts?

Went to Costco the other day.  For those of you who do not shop at Costco, before you leave the building you have to show your receipt, as t...