Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Tasty Tuesdays: Roast Chicken

So I'm always excited when I try something new in our menu and it actually works! Not to brag but not only did it work, but it was a home run for my food-aholic husband! My experiment turned into one of the most moist and flavorful dishes I've ever made.

It all started with a super cheap chicken from Save-a-Lot and my crock pot! I love crock pot cooking, there is nothing better than looking like you spent all day slaving over a hot stove but in actuality dumped a bunch of random items in and walked away. I also love the smells that cock pot cooking produces!

So I rolled up 4 balls of tin foil and set the my washed chicken on top of it. At the Howard House our favorite stand by seasonings are ranch and garlic powder, I covered the chicken in that and put the lid on......wasn't that easy? No liquid, no work, no nothin'! I let it cook for 8 hours and when I opened the lid, what came out was the most tender, juicy, melt in your mouth "rotisserie" chicken!

We ate the chicken that evening with mashed potatoes, salad, macaroni and cheese, and some garlic bread.....I felt like we were out for dinner. That night I striped the chicken down and portioned the chicken into smaller bags for use later. I was going to freeze some, but ended up making some other things sooner than I normally would.

First, I took the chicken and make it into a delicious Mexican casserole, with SW seasoning, Velveeta, tortillas, a can chicken soup, and some shredded cheese. This casserole is a family favorite and only used a fraction of my delicious chicken. This casserole freezes fantastic, so it's great to make a couple batches up and then get them out as needed.

Second, I took the chicken, added some fried rice and made some stir fry. This is one of Tom's favorite meals and again it makes a huge batch that we eat on for a few dinners and he also takes portions of it to work, CHEAP LUNCH!

Third, we had another meal of leftovers of roast chicken.....Grant loves just plain chicken, so he will eat this for lunch after lunch, after lunch after.........

I still have chicken to use in chicken salad, for sandwiches. I was thinking of making chicken pot pie or chicken and dumplings too, the possibilities are endless! All of this for a $4.59 chicken!!

Is there a recipe that your family's menu revolves around?? Any great deals that you just HAVE to share???


5 comments:

  1. Yum! Why do you put balls of foil on the bottom? Does it make it more 'rotisserie style'? I haven't done much with a crockpot other than to make pot roast, which my husband doesn't care for, so I'll have to try chicken! And I MISS Save-a-lot!!!!!!!!!!!!

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  2. WOW! You constantly impress me! Everything sounds SO yummy! Soooo, spill your recipes...I need tasty and cheap meal ideas.

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  3. Yes Desiree, the balls are to keep the chicken out of all the broth that cooks out of the bird, it keeps it from all getting soggy and makes it more rotissoury style. I didn't this time, but you can also use the broth/stock for many things as well, to make soup, flavoring for other items, etc.

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  4. Glad to know the foil ball trick. I used to do lots of cooking like this, but a little more difficult with milk, rice and soy allergy in the family now. Our groceries have increased in price! Always looking for new ideas if you have any.

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  5. dang! how big was that chicken? :) i love crockpot recipes... i'll have to give this a try, as i'm always picking up a rotisserie at the store for $5... .and they aren't that big.

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