Cooked Chicken

Many quick and easy recipes call for pre-cooked chicken to save you time in the kitchen. Before food prices went through the roof and the bottom fell out of the economy, the easiest way to get cooked chicken was to pick up a rotisserie chicken from the grocery store deli on the way home from work. Now, a cooked chicken can cost you between $7 and $10! The price is definitely not work the time saved.

My recommendation to insure that you will always have a supply of cooked chicken for recipes and salads is to shop for whole chickens when they are on sale. Pick up a few of them and spend a Saturday simply roasting them. Season with salt and pepper only and leave the big flavors to your future recipes. When the chickens have cooled, remove all the meat from the bone. Freeze the meat in freezer ziploc bags in 1 or 2 cup quantities.(Be sure to press out all the air to prevent freezer burn). When you need the meat for a recipe, thaw in the refrigerator and proceed with your recipe.

Want to save even more money? Purchase chicken legs and thighs when they are on sale and do the same thing. You'll never miss the white meat in casseroles, soups , and stews and sometimes you can find chicken legs and thighs as low as 49 cents a pound.

Save those bones! Pop them in a freezer bag and they will be ready to go when you are in the mood to make a big pot of homemade stock.