Grilled and Roasted Chicken Breasts and the Weekly Specials with Mary Anne

Kroger has several things that are a good price if you buy “any five.” It’s really easy with a deal like that to buy something you don’t need to get in your five items. Don’t do it! You usually end up paying more than you would if you just bought the items you do need without the discount. At least that’s the way it works for me. Saving money can be really expensive! But on to their sales… Kraft salad dressings are 99 cents for a 16 ounce bottle. Kraft cheese is $1.99 for 5 – 8 ounce packages, which is a good price for 8 ounces but not for 5 ounces. Oscar Meyer lunchmeat is $1.99 for a 1 pound package. It’s going to be heavily processed, but it is convenient. All of these prices are assuming you buy “any 5” of the various sale items. They’re all $1.00 more if you don’t buy 5. There are also a few things that are on sale even if you don’t buy 5 items. Split chicken breast, drumsticks or thighs are 99 cents a pound. Cottage cheese and sour cream are $1.99 for 24 ounces. Butter is two pounds for $5.00, or $2.50 a pound, and you don’t have to buy two to get that price. These prices are good through Wednesday, March 26. There is also a four-day-only sale, with prices good only through Sunday, March 23. Among these sales items are five half gallons of milk for $5.00, or $1.00 each, or $2.00 per gallon. You don’t have to buy five gallons, and there is a limit of five gallons. Asparagus is 88 cents a pound.

Marsh has pork chops in the family pack for 99 cents a pound. Grapes – red, white or black seedless or red with seeds – are $1.48 a pound. Anjou and Bosc pears are $1.49 a pound. Jumbo cantaloupes are 3 for $5.00, or $1.67 each. These prices are good through Wednesday, March 26.

IGA has split fryer breasts for 99 cents a pound. Turkey sausage is $1.99 for a one pound package. “Jumbo size” lemons are two for $1.00, or 50 cents each. Ambrosia apples are $1.49 a pound. “Red ripe tomatoes on the vine” are $1.49 a pound. Some Kraft products are buy-one-get-one-free. Some cheeses $2.99 for two 5 to 8 ounce packages. That’s a good price for the 8 ounce packages, at $2.99 a pound, not good for the 5 ounce packages. Planters peanuts are $3.49 for two 1-pound jars, or $1.75 per jar, and peanut butter is $2.79 for two 15 – 16.3 ounce jars, or $1.40 each, also on the buy-on-get-one-free sale. These prices are good through Sunday, March 23.

We’re back to chicken breasts this week. IGA and Marsh both have split fryer breasts for 99 cents a pound. They’re bone-in and skin-on, so that’s something to consider when you see the price. By the way, I’ve been wondering how the price of split fryer breasts and boneless, skinless fryer breasts compare. The result of my little experiment was that it really is cheaper to buy the split fryer breasts and do the work yourself. Of course, the ones that are already boned and skinned are quicker and easier to use. I use both.

Figure that about half the weight of the split chicken breasts will be in the boneless, skinless portions, so if you need a pound of boneless skinless chicken, you’ll need to start with two pounds of split chicken breasts. Between 8 and 9 ounces of boneless, skinless chicken breast will yield a cup of diced, cooked meat. Let’s call it 8 ounces, so 1 pound of split chicken breast will yield about 1 cup of diced, cooked meat. More or less. That’s about 99 cents per cup of cooked meat this week, plus you get the bones, the skin, and some meat that’s left on the bones after you cut off the big chunks.

Twice as Nice: 25 Chicken Breast Recipes for Today and Later, by Sandra Liu, is one of the free books I found for the Kindle. (If you don’t have a Kindle, you can download Kindle for PC onto your computer. Unfortunately, the library doesn’t have Kindles and doesn’t have the Kindle software on their computers.) The idea behind the book is that you can buy chicken breasts when they’re on sale, grill or bake them, then cut them up and freeze them to have COOKED CHICKEN STRIPS available whenever you need them. They’re a lot cheaper that way than buying the precooked strips of chicken breasts. The book tells how to grill or roast them, how to cut them up, how to freeze them, and then gives 25 recipes using the cooked meat. 

To find recipes for the cooked chicken breast strips, I did a google search for “grilled chicken breast recipes.” One site that came up was the Tyson website, which included almost 90 recipes using their precooked chicken breast strips. I’ve included one of them. Of course, I adapted it to use your own home-cooked chicken breast strips instead of Tyson’s!

Let’s go back and start with the raw chicken breasts. Let’s start with six pounds of them, since you frequently have to buy them in the family packs to get the best price. First, cook them with the bone in and the skin on. (You could cut the meat off the bone before we cook it, in which case you’d pull the skin off, too. It comes out pretty much the same either way, and some people don’t like handling raw chicken.) Then you pull the nice crisp skin off of the meat and save it for a treat. Next, you cut the meat off the bones, trying to get it off in one big chunk, but not scraping the bones to get every bit of meat off of them. You put the bones in a pot of water with some vegetables and seasonings and make some soup for four people. And then use the meat you cut off in two main dish recipes for four people each. That’s twelve servings from $6.00 of split chicken breasts.

Let’s start with SIMPLE CHICKEN VEGETABLE SOUP, and its cousins, CREAM OF CHICKEN AND VEGETABLE SOUP, CHICKEN VEGETABLE EGG DROP SOUP. How much will this soup cost? It depends, of course, on what you end up putting in it. I figure that the broth and the meat and free, because I include the entire cost of the split fryer breasts in the cost of the chunks of meat that I cut off for other things. Let’s say 2 onions, 4 carrots, 2 stalks of celery, 8 ounces of frozen peas, and 8 eggs. That’s going to be about $2.85 for four big servings of soup. Let’s call it $3.00, or 75 cents per serving, just because I like things that come out nice and even. You’d want to add a salad or something if you were having this for supper, but for lunch I just have a big bowl of this type of soup and call it good.

I figure $1.00 for breakfast and $1.50 each for lunch and supper, or $4.00 a day to keep my costs down to the average food stamp benefit per person received in Indiana. I don’t have the exact figure, but the latest I’ve seen is just under $1.40 per person per meal, or just under $4.20 per day per person. Since this soup is only about 75 cents per person for lunch, that leaves an extra 75 cents for other meals that might go a bit over $1.50 per person, or for special meals where you want to splurge a bit.

Now to a few recipes using those chunks of meat you cut off the bones in big chunks, and then sliced. I didn’t really intend to when I started today’s column, but I seem to have ended with Southwestern or Tex-Mex recipes. The cooked chicken breast doesn’t have to be used only in Tex-Mex recipes; it can be used plain, or in Italian dishes, or Thai dishes, or curries, or just about anything else. The recipes that I ended up using today just happen to be more or less Southwestern. 

Like SOUTHWESTERN FRITTATA. The frittata will cost about $4.00. Add half a cup each of sour cream and salsa to top it off (two tablespoons of each per serving) for another 60 cents. Serve it with a quick fruit salad of one cup of halved grapes and half a cantaloupe for $1.25 and you’ve got a good brunch or lunch or even a light supper for just under $6.00, or $1.50 per person. Or sauté a couple pounds of asparagus in butter with some garlic and serve that instead. Or serve salad. Or a salad and a pound of asparagus. There are lots of ways you can use that other $2.00 on side dishes to accompany the frittata.

LEFTOVER CHICKEN SANTA FE is different than I usually .give, with corn, beans and tortilla strips. The mixture of chicken, black beans, corn and cheese can be used in many ways. Add it to a salad, or to a wrap, or a burrito, or rice, or you could even make soup out of it. As a salad, it comes to about $5.50, not counting the tortilla strips. I have no idea how much they cost, though I do remember when I bought a big bag of plain corn tortillas for Mom they didn’t cost very much. You should be able to make plenty of TORTILLA STRIPS for the salad and stay under $6.00 for the meal, if you make your own. Making your own ITALIAN DRESSING helps keep the cost down, too. 

Still Going Strong at the Farmers Market, and Weekly Specials with Mary Anne

Happy October! Are you ready for Halloween yet? I hope not – it’s much too early, though it seems like the stores have been selling Halloween stuff for ages.

The best deal this week seems to be milk. Aldi has it for $1.69 a gallon, Kroger for 88 cents for a half gallon, which comes out to $1.76 per gallon, but is a better deal if you wouldn’t use a whole gallon before it goes bad. Marsh has Egg-Land’s Best Eggs two dozen for $4.00, which is a good price on that brand. When I was at Aldi on Wednesday, they had regular eggs for $1.29 a dozen. Kroger’s ad says that they have 5.3 ounce Greek yogurt for 29 cents each, if you buy four of them. Butter at Kroger is $1.88 a pound, cottage cheese and sour cream are $1.00 a pound (or pint or 16 ounce), and various kinds of cheese are $1.88 for 6 – 8 ounces. It’s a good price for 8 ounces, not so good for 6 ounces. Kroger also has fresh green beans for 99 cents a pound.

Pumpkins are on sale, too, and they’ll keep until Halloween. Until Thanksgiving and probably until Christmas if you don’t carve them. Marsh has pie pumpkins for $1.99. Aldi has regular pumpkins for $1.99 (I have no idea how big they are). And the Kroger store at the corner of Second and College has pumpkins for 99 cents each through Saturday. It’s part of their Grand Re-Opening sale, and it seems to be only at that store.

Not much on sale in the way of meat. Kroger has 73% lean ground beef for $1.97 a pound in three pound chubs, which cost $5.91 each, and pork chops and spareribs for $1.97 in the large value packs. Marsh has boneless skinless chicken breasts for $1.97 a pound in the family size packs.

I’m going to give some more recipes for summer veggies this week. (And by the way, I’ll be serving samples of Moussaka, a Greek dish eggplant casserole) on Friday at the Hub, starting about 4:00 or so. I hope you’ll stop by my tasting table!) Summer veggies won’t last much longer at the Farmers Market. Eggplant was running $1.00 each last Saturday, or sometimes 75 cents each for small ones. I usually get the big ones. The seeds don’t bother me in casseroles. I’m told that the big ones don’t work as well, though, if you’re going to slice the eggplant, like you would for Eggplant Parmesan. Really big zucchini were also $1.00 each, and I could still get the big red bell pepper seconds for 50 cents each. Canning tomatoes were a bit more than they were last week, but still a good price. Check last week’s for more recipes using eggplant and zucchini.

I have tried eggplant over the years, and could never find a recipe that I liked. I kept trying, though, because so many people said it was good. Finally, when I was testing recipes for a cookbook by Judy Barnes Baker, I found a really good recipe. And since then, I’ve found more recipes that I like. Here’s that first “good” recipe, for MOUSSAKA. Moussaka is a traditional Greek casserole made with layers of eggplant and sauce, with a custard over the top. Kind of like lasagna, except it’s Greek instead of Italian, has slices of eggplant instead of noodles, has lots less cheese, and is topped with custard. It's more work than I really want to do most days, what with the slicing and salting and draining and frying of the eggplant and then making multiple alternating layers of the eggplant and the meat sauce. I came up with a SIMPLIFIED MOUSSAKA that has the same great taste but is lots easier and takes lots less time in the kitchen.

A batch of either version of Moussaka should cost about $6.00, and will make six generous servings, at about $1.00 each. Serve it with a salad and or some fresh veggies from the Farmers Market, and you’ve got a complete meal for less than $1.50 per serving.

I think that SAUSAGE SQUASH CASSEROLE is my favorite zucchini recipe. It’s not for calorie counters, but it’s good and it’s inexpensive. And it freezes well, which is important since I like to make lots of squash and eggplant casseroles in the summer and then freeze them. Assuming the sausage is $3.00 and the zucchini is $1.00, this recipe costs about $6.05 and makes six servings at just over $1.00 each. (Aldi’s regular price on mayo is $1.99 for 30 ounces, and their regular price on Cheddar is $1.79 for 8 ounces if you shred your own.) There’s not much texture to it, so you’ll want to add either a salad or some tender-crisp vegetables to it. Another complete meal for under $1.50 per serving.

Do you like Sausage and Peppers? I usually don’t, because the peppers are always way overcooked, at least for my taste. I prefer them tender-crisp, like in a stir-fry. So here are two recipes - ITALIAN SAUSAGE AND PEPPERS for the traditionalists among you who like your peppers really soft, and STIR-FRIED ITALIAN SAUSAGE AND PEPPERS for those like me who like their veggies to still have a bit of bite to them.Take your pick. A lot of people must like the overcooked peppers, because that’s the way most recipes say to cook them! A recipe of either one would cost about $4.50, assuming $3.00 for the Italian sausage. It makes 4 servings, so each serving would be about $1.15. A good sized spaghetti squash is $2.00 at the Farmers Market now and would serve four generously, at 50 cents per serving. The Italian Sausage and Peppers over spaghetti squash would be about $1.65 per serving.

A similar dish from a different part of the world is Fajitas. Since I don’t eat grains, I serve the fajita meat and veggies on a bed of lettuce for FAJITA SALADS, instead of serving it in tortillas. You can add whatever toppings you want. I’ve included the cost for sour cream, shredded cheddar and salsa, but you could also add jalapenos, olives, guacamole, etc. If you’re not going to eat all six servings immediately, put aside the extra meat and veggie mixture before you put it on the lettuce or add the toppings. Then, when you’re ready to eat it, just heat up the meat and veggies, and continue with making the salads. Without the sour cream, etc., this costs about $8.00 for six servings, assuming boneless skinless chicken breasts are $2.00 a pound and allowing $1.00 for all of the seasonings, which is likely quite a bit more than it really is. You could use fajita seasoning instead of all of the individual seasonings, or use taco seasoning instead. Let’s say $1.35 per serving. Two tablespoons each of shredded Cheddar and sour cream would be another 15 cents. Aldi has jars of salsa for (I think – I haven’t checked recently) about $1.20 each, so say another 15 cents for salsa. That would bring the total up to about $1.65 per serving. And these would be BIG servings! 

Taco Salad

Taco salad is another main-dish salad that's made with whatever you happen to have on hand and feel like using. You can add additional toppings, if you like - salsa, jalapenos, olives, etc.

1 lb ground beef

1/2 onion, chopped

Taco seasonings

1 head lettuce, shredded or chopped

1/2 onion, finely chopped

Grape tomatoes, halved

4 oz cheddar cheese, shredded

1 c sour cream

Cook ground beef, the first half onion, and the taco seasonings in a heavy skillet. Set aside. Divide the lettuce among four bowls. Top with the cooked meat, the remaining half onion, the grape tomatoes, cheddar cheese and sour cream.

Salsa Chicken

Just season some chicken (taco seasoning is easy, or sprinkle the chicken with salt, pepper, and cumin) and then cook it either on top of the stove or in the oven until the chicken is done. Pour some salsa (you pick the heat) over the top of the chicken and sprinkle some shredded cheddar over the salsa. Cook it for about 10 minutes more or until the cheese is melted and bubbly. 

Southwestern Roasted Carrots

(from a recipe in Top 30 Tex-Mex Vegetarian Recipes in Just and Only 3 Steps, by Annie R. McNeeley)

4 large carrots (8 ounces)

2 T olive oil

1/4 t chili powder

1/4 t cumin

1/4 t salt

1/4 t pepper

Julienne the peeled carrots. (Cut them in matchstick-shaped pieces, about twice as thick as matchsticks and about twice as long.) Toss the carrots, oil and seasonings until the carrots are evenly coated with the seasonings. Spread them out on a baking sheet and roast them at 350 for 15 minutes. Take the pan out of the oven and toss the carrots again, spread them out in the pan and put them back in the oven for another 15 minutes. Take them out and toss them again, spread them evenly in the pan, and roast them for a final 15 minutes. Check them after the second 15 minutes. The carrots should be soft and may not need the final 15 minutes.

Leftover Chicken Sante Fe Several Ways

LEFTOVER CHICKEN SANTA FE SALAD, is different than the recipes I usually .give, with corn, beans and tortilla strips. It just sounded too good to skip, and it can be adapted so many ways. Leave out the tortilla strips and put it in taco shells instead for LEFTOVER CHICKEN SANTA FE TACOS. Spread the salad in tortillas or wraps for LEFTOVER CHICKEN SANTA FE WRAPS. Wrap it up in tortillas for LEFTOVER CHICKEN SANTA FE BURRITOS. Leave out the lettuce and add the rest to some cooked rice for LEFTOVER SANTA FE CHICKEN, BEANS AND RICE and serve the salad on the side. And so on. You get the idea.

LEFTOVER CHICKEN SANTA FE SALAD

(based on a recipe at food.com)

1/4 c Italian dressing (creamy or regular)

1/4 c chunky salsa (hot or mild)

2 T lime juice

2 c cooked chicken

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed

1 can corn, drained

4 c salad mix (lettuce, cabbage and carrots), or shredded lettuce

1/4 c (4 T) sour cream

2 oz shredded Cheddar cheese (1/2 c)

tortilla strips 

Mix the Italian dressing, salsa and lime juice together in a large bowl, big enough to hold the whole salad. Add the chicken, beans, corn and lettuce and toss to coat. Divide the salad on four plates and top each serving with a tablespoon of sour cream and two tablespoons of shredded Cheddar cheese. Sprinkle a few tortilla strips on each serving.

Tortilla Strips

To make your own tortilla strips, cut corn tortillas in strips about 1/2” wide and 2” long. Place them on a baking sheet in a single layer and bake them at 350 for 6 minutes. Use a spatula to turn them over (don’t worry if not all of them get turned over, just try to get most of them), sprinkle them with salt, and bake them another 6 to 9 minutes or until they just start to brown. Remove them from the oven and let cool. Sprinkle with more salt to serve.

You can make tortilla strips in the microwave, too. Cut the corn tortillas into strips like above, and spread them out in a single layer, not touching on a paper towel-lined plate. Nuke them until they are crisp but not burnt. Check them after 30 seconds, though it may take up to a minute and a half. How long it will take depends on your microwave. Sprinkle with salt to serve.

Southwestern Frittata

(based on a recipe from Tyson.com)

8 eggs, lightly beaten

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 cup frozen corn

1/2 cup red bell pepper, finely chopped

1/3 cup green onion, sliced

2 teaspoons garlic, minced

1 t chili powder

1/2 cup tomato, chopped

1 cup cooked chicken breast strips

1/2 cup Colby-Jack cheese

In a medium bowl combine eggs, cumin, and salt; set aside. In a 10-inch broiler-proof skillet add olive oil, corn, sweet pepper, onions, garlic and chili powder and cook over medium heat for 2 minutes; add tomato. Continue to cook, uncovered, for an additional 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add chicken. Pour egg mixture over mixture in skillet. As mixture sets, run a spatula around edge of skillet, lifting egg mixture so uncooked portion flows underneath. Continue cooking and lifting edges until egg mixture is almost set (surface will be moist). Sprinkle with cheese. Broil 4-5 inches from heat for 1-2 minutes or until egg is set and cheese melts. (Or cover loosely and continue cooking on top of stove until cheese melts and the egg is set.) To serve, cut into quarters.

Mexican Chicken Soup

(adapted from http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/mexican-chicken-soup-recipe/index.html )

3 cups of cooked, diced chicken

2 T olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 cup chopped onions (1 onion)
1/2 cup chopped celery (1 stalk)
1 cup chopped carrots (2 carrots)
2 large cloves garlic, chopped
1 quart (4 cups) chicken stock, preferably homemade
1 (14-ounce) can whole tomatoes in puree, crushed
1 or 2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and minced
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander seed
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves, optional

Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large pot or Dutch oven. Add the onion, celery, and carrots and cook over medium-low heat for 10 minutes, or until the onions start to brown. Add the garlic and cook for another 30 seconds. Add the chicken, chicken stock, tomatoes with their puree, jalapenos, cumin, coriander, salt, pepper and cilantro. Bring the soup to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer for 25 minutes. Top with sour cream or diced avocado, if desired. 

Quick and Easy Mexican Chicken

(based on a recipe at allrecipes.com)

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts (about 1-1/2 pounds total)

1/2 t garlic powder

1/2 t salt

1/2 t pepper

1/2 t cumin

1-1/2 c salsa (half of a 24 oz jar)

1 c shredded Cheddar cheese (preferably sharp) (or use pepper jack)

1/2 c sour cream

Preheat oven to 375.

Combine garlic powder, salt, pepper and cumin and rub over the chicken. Place the chicken in a 9” square baking dish and top with the salsa. Bake for about 30 minutes, then add the Cheddar cheese and bake another 10 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and starts to brown. Let each person add his/her own sour cream.

Fajita Salad

Sort of like a taco salad, but made with fajita-cooked meat and veggies. You can add whatever toppings you want - sour cream, shredded cheddar, salsa, jalapenos, olives, guacamole, etc. If you’re not going to eat all six servings immediately, put aside the extra meat and veggie mixture before you put it on the lettuce or add the toppings. Then, when you’re ready to eat it, just heat up the meat and veggies, and continue with making the salads.

(based on a recipe at tasteofhome.com)

4 tablespoons olive oil, divided

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1-1/2 teaspoons seasoned salt

1-1/2 teaspoons dried oregano

1-1/2 teaspoons ground cumin

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon chili powder

1/2 teaspoon paprika

1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, optional

1-1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into thin strips

1 sweet red pepper, julienned

1 green pepper, julienned

1 medium onion, halved and then thinly sliced

1 head iceberg or other lettuce, roughly chopped or shredded

2 tomatoes, coarsely chopped

Toppings – sour cream, shredded Cheddar cheese, salsa, etc.

In a large resealable plastic bag, combine 2 tablespoons oil, lemon juice and seasonings; add the chicken. Seal and turn to coat; refrigerate for 1-4 hours.

In a large skillet, saute peppers and onions in remaining oil until crisp-tender. Remove and keep warm.

Discard marinade. In the same skillet, cook chicken over medium-high heat for 5-6 minutes or until no longer pink. Return pepper mixture to pan; heat through.

Put a pile of lettuce on each of six plates. Top with the chicken and pepper mixture, then with the tomatoes. Add the toppings, or pass them and let each person add his/her own.