Fabulous Food Feed The Freezer The Frugal Food Fanatic Cooks California Style! | The Frugal Food Fanatic Cooks California Style! |
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Help - I Am So Broke I Have to Make This Chicken Into 5-10 Meals!
Ingredients for Phenomenal Bone Building Stock
1 whole chicken – buy a chubby chicken to get more meat! Sam’s double packs are great! Onions 1 or 2 (all produce can be “bottom of the crisper drawer” as it will be discarded) Celery 1 or 2 Carrots 1 or 2 Fresh Garlic a whole head of yummy garlic! 1 Tablespoon of Apple Cider Vinegar ACV (this helps get calcium out of the bones) Fresh herbs if you have them (I snip basil, oregano, thyme and whatever I have on hand) Salt and pepper to taste
Take that gorgeous, chubby chicken and rinse it off in a clean sink. Pull out any internal bags of goodies (you are on your own there as my experience with the obviously dead is terrifyingly inadequate in the liver/gizzard section– dog food comes to mind!) Take el chubbo the chicken and put him in your crockpot OR in a big soup pot on the kitchen stove. Fill with fresh, clean water, covering el chubbo, your goal is a rich bone-building broth. Chop onions, celery and carrots and add to the pot. No disrespect intended, but these three vegetables are known as ‘the trinity’ in French cooking and are used along with fresh herbs to add flavor and depth to stock. Add the tablespoon of ACV. Fire up the burner and set to boil gently on the stove, and reduce to simmer about an hour and half. OR in the crockpot, cook 6-8 hours on low until the meat is done.
I like to pull el chubbo out at that point and pull all of the tender meat off the chicken and put in a container for later use. I put the bones and skin back into the broth, press down with a potato masher, to release additional calcium for bones and simmer at least another hour on the stove top, few hours in the crockpot. This will reduce the liquid mixture while simmering more of the nutrition out of the chicken and eventually make a deep, rich, lightly flavored, bone-building broth. Strain warm broth (to remove veggies/scum) twice or three times and smile, this is what “Jewish Penicillin” is all about, and similar to the stocks cooks have made for centuries to nourish bodies. You just made stock the way God intended, not some bouillon cube full of chemicals that makes your body cringe. Expect a lighter flavor. Your taste buds will get accustomed to real broth after you begin making and using it! This usually nets about a gallon of broth for our family. You can actually put this all in the crock pot the night before, and let it simmer all night. In the AM, strain as above, and make the soup as below (can crock cook all day if you are on the way to work)
Congratulations! You have just began a whole new chapter in healthy cooking that will nourish your family from God’s best ingredients, pure, wholesome food. If you can use organics, even better! It adds to cost, I know, but you can grow your own and it is much, much healthier. Don't Just Google Frugal – Make a Souper Supper
Do you see how much you are learning here? You have made a gorgeous, homemade, bone-building broth that will nourish your family. You have taken that Basic Soup Recipe with 4 additional options to be made into 5 different varieties of soup! Your family thinks you are brilliant and you know you are just cooking fabulously frugal – California style! Do you remember you still have el chubbo, the plump, juicy chicken for MORE frugal favorites! Depending on family size and taste, if you use the chicken as a condiment, you can translate that chicken into 3-5 more meals! Maximum value – el chubbo the chicken becomes 10 meals! 3 Different California Style Mexican Specialties
Finger Licken El Chubbo Chicken Tacos or Burritos or Tostados -- 3 Options
We eat our tacos a little differently in the wacky wilds of California. California style Mexican food is vastly different than Tennessee style – you won’t recognize it! It is delicious and bursting with flavor – so join the adventure and try it! If for no other reason than it took me HOURS to type this all up!
Romaine lettuce SLICED or green cabbage SLICED (NO iceberg – that breaks the 11th commandment of tasty tacos!) Chopped tomatoes if available (TN has the best tomatoes!) Freshly grated CHEDDAR cheese (no “cheese sauce” – that is illegal) Warmed chicken sprinkled with taco seasoning (homemade recipe below is best) Warmed corn or flour tortillas Salsa, guacamole and sour cream (if desired) Jalapeno Peppers in a jar Mt. Olive brand works – near the pickles (these add so much flavor!)
Fresh Veggies are critical to California style and are what make our food! Chop, dice, reheat and put on the table in bowls. The whole family enjoys making their own tacos or burritos, based on their own palate and tastes. Make it as spicy as you want! Serve refried beans and Spanish rice to round out the meal! This is a fabulous, fast meal for before Sunday night services!
Tasty Tostados with El Pollo Loco (which means the crazy chicken!)
Refried beans – heated All ingredients above.
Turn oven on to 350 degrees. Lightly bake corn tortillas in oven till CRISP, about 7-12 minutes depending on oven. They brown quickly toward the end. Experiment and you will get the hang of it. Follow all the above ingredients and chopping directions, have lettuce, tomatoes, cheese, chicken is used as a condiment in this recipe – just a small spoon if at all, salsa, guacamole and sour cream on the table. For an extra special treat, chopped cucumbers and steep them in the jalapeno pepper pickling juices, which adds the ultimate yum factor! 3 Different California Style Mexican Specialties in a HURRY! Tasty Homemade Taco Seasoning Mix
1 cup Dried Onion 1/3 cup Chili Powder 1/3 cup Cumin (what our Mexican Cuisine Chef Tina Norris said MAKES food taste great!) 1 Tablespoon Oregano 1/3 cup Garlic Powder 2 teaspoons Onion Powder (optional) 1-4 TEASPOONS of crushed red pepper flakes (this is what makes it hot, start with 1 teaspoon!)
Blend these delicious spices together in a clean jar for homemade taco seasoning. Sprinkle on taco meat when cooking, add to soups, add to cooked chicken (or turkey) to spice up tacos. Sprinkle baked potatoes or popcorn with it. The sky is the limit – use your imagination! If you like taco seasoning, this is a safe, healthy, FRUGAL alternative to the store brand ones (even when they are on sale) which are full of toxic chemicals, and NO nasty MSG which is an excito-toxin and bad for the brain! Be fabulously frugal and make your own!
El Chubbo Chicken Enchiladas SuizaEnjoy the flavors of green chiles and the texture of shredded chicken in these Enchiladas Suiza. Melted cheese and sauteed spinach and onion only add to the unique taste. And if that weren't enough, these enchiladas are a snap to make, but they taste like you've spent hours in the kitchen. "Suiza" is "Switzerland" in Spanish, named for the creamy white sauce that tops them. This is a fabulous make ahead meal to serve company. They will never notice the spinach – so don’t stress it! INGREDIENTS:
PREPARATION:Heat oven to 350 degrees. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a pan over medium heat and cook the onions for about 1 minute. Add the spinach and cook it for about 5 minutes until leaves are wilted (my family doesn’t even notice the spinach in it and they are the Spinach Police) Fold in the chicken and green chiles. Set aside. In a saucepan, heat sour cream, evaporated milk, and chile sauce over low heat until sauce is smooth. Prepare a 9x13 inch baking dish by coating the bottom with a thin layer of sauce. Warm tortillas in microwave to soften and place it into the pan. Place about 1/4 cup filling down the center of the the tortilla and sprinkle with a tablespoon of cheddar cheese. This is not science – just eyeball it. Roll the tortilla up and place seam side down in dish. Repeat until all tortillas are used. Pour remaining sauce over the top, and sprinkle with the crumbled cheese. Bake dish for 30 minutes to melt the cheese. Serve with beans and rice and a giant romaine salad. Elegant Chicken Salad
1-2 cups of remaining Chicken, diced 1-2 celery stalks, THINLY sliced ½ onion THINLY sliced (regular or red OR ½ cup green onions) ¼ cup Mayonnaise (up to ½ cup depending on amount of leftover chicken) 1/8 cup Sour Cream (up to ¼ cup) ½ Teaspoon Oregano Squeeze of lemon or lime juice (about 1 Tablespoon) Salt and pepper to taste Sliced almonds or pecans – optional elegance
Mix veggies, mayonnaise, sour cream, and spices together. Squeeze lemon or lime juice in and stir. Add chicken and then season to taste with salt and pepper. Delicious in sandwiches or atop a crisp Romaine lettuce or Spinach salad! Delicious! Fabulous for special occasions, bridal lunches, teas or a Sunday after church! Can be made a day ahead and flavors left to meld.
PASTA PRIMAVERA 1/2 c. butter Vegetables may be prepared in advance and refrigerated. Heat wok or deep skillet over medium heat. Add butter onion and garlic and saute until onions are softened, 2 minutes. Mix in mushrooms, cauliflower, zucchini, broccoli, carrots, stir fry 2 minutes. Increase heat to high. Add Half and Half, chicken stock and basil. Boil about 3 minutes until liquid is reduced. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Add pasta, toss with vegetable, add cheese. It is best to let pasta primavera sit in pot for about 30 minutes. Serve with a huge salad and enjoy! California Cuisine Helping YOU Fly Through the Frugal Farm With Joy |
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