Recipe: Crockpot Chicken/Turkey Tetrazzini

Sometimes you just need a nice crockpot full of delicious comfort food.  This Turkey Tetrazzini fits the bill using items typical found in the frugal refrigerator.

Crockpot Chicken/Turkey Tetrazzini

1 C chicken or turkey, cooked
8 oz spaghetti, cooked
1/2 cup celery, diced
1 medium onion, diced
1 bell pepper, diced
2-4 TBS Butter
8 oz cheddar cheese
1 can sliced mushroom (, 7 oz.)
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can chicken broth

Dice & sautee vegetables in butter.
Combine all ingredients in crockpot & cook on low for 6-8 hrs.

Variations:

Use Ham, canned chicken or tuna in place of the Chicken or Turkey.
Replace soup with homemade “Cream of” soup, homemade whitesauce or a can of cheddar cheese soup.
Increase liquid by 2/3 C (water or broth) and use uncooked noodles.
Substitute any type of pasta (or even rice) for the spaghetti.
Skip the sautee step and toss in the celery, onion & pepper uncooked.
Add peas (canned or frozen) to up the veggie quotient.

Recipe: Crockpot Salsa Chicken

The crockpot is one of the best frugal cooking devices I know!  This quick, easy and cheap 4 ingredient recipe for Salsa Chicken will have the house smelling fantastic by suppertime with barely any effort at all.

Crockpot Salsa Chicken

4 Chicken Breasts
2 Jars of Salsa
1C Corn
1C Black Beans

Layer ingredients in Crockpot & cook on low 6-8 hrs.
Remove meat, shred and return to the sauce.
Serve on tortillas with fixings (lettuce, tomato, cheese, salsa etc)

Variations:

Bake in the oven at 350 for about 1 hr instead of using the crockpot.
Don’t shred & serve on tortillas, but serve as chicken breasts.
Serve over noodles or rice.
Use other parts of the chicken. Remember that leaving skin on increases the ending fat content.
Use “Rotel” style tomatoes in place of the salsa, or use 1 jar salsa and 1 jar crushed tomatoes.
Spice it up with Spicy Salsa, a dash (or 2 or 3) of Tabasco or a package of Taco Seasoning.
Use “mexican” style corn-or leave it out all together
Use any type of cooked bean.
Add 8 oz of Cream Cheese or 1C sour cream to the sauce right before serving for a “creamy” version.

Quick Meals: 10 Simple Way to use Chicken

Today is the final installment in my 3 part series on quick meals.  I’ve been showing everyone how having frozen precooked meats on hand can really speed up dinner preparation and save you from the dreaded “drive thru trap”.  Previously I wrote about ways to use Ground Beef and Meatballs. . . today I tackle chicken.

When precooking and freezing chicken my biggest money saving tip is this: DO NOT BUY BONELESS SKINLESS BREASTS!!

I know, we’ve all been pre-programmed to just grab that quick and easy bag of flash frozen chicken. Or even worse, the chicken tenders-same thing, just cut smaller for a higher price.  Resist!

You will be cooking and then either shredding or cutting up the chicken before freezing it in meal sized portions-so buy whatever is cheapest and save yourself some cash. Please.

There are several ways you can cook the actual chicken.  If it’s a small amount and I’m going to be around, I’ll throw it in a roasting pan and bake it in the oven.  If I want to be hands off and not obligated to be right there all the time I’ll toss it in the crockpot and let it cook.  You can even let it cook while you sleep!

Once you’ve got the chicken all packaged up in the freezer you can take advantage of the bones & skin by tossing them all back into the crockpot with some water (and a TBS of vinegar to leach calcium out of the bones) to make your own broth.  Cook for 4-6 hrs, strain, stick it in the fridge to have the fat float to the top, skim and package in 1 cup portions for future use!

Just be careful that you don’t drop the pot like I fairly famously did the time I was bulk cooking 20 pounds of chicken thighs!

If you are a visual person, you can check out the Bulk Chicken Cooking Tutorial at Kims Kitchen.

Now, on to my 10 simple ways to use precooked chicken!

Chicken

Chicken & Gravy: Use dry packet of gravy mix (or make your own) and serve over rice, biscuits or bread.

Mustard Chicken: Mix either sour cream or plain yogurt (1/3 C) with a dollup of dijon mustard and some beef bullion powder/onion soup mix. Warm (do not boil) and add chicken. Serve with rice.

Chicken soup: Broth, veggies, chicken, rice or noodles.

Chicken Tacos/Burritos: Add the spice mix (packet or homemade) and serve either on burrito wraps or in taco shells with all the regular accompaniments.

Stirfry: Mix with a bag of frozen stirfry veggies and some soy sauce, serve with rice.

Curry: Mix with leftover/frozen veggies and instant curry cubes (I have a curry making tutorial). Serve with rice.

Chicken Cacciatore: Add to spaghetti sauce and simmer. Serve over noodles

Chicken Stuffing Casserole: Make stuffing (box or homemade) layer chicken on top and pour gravy over (packet or homemade).

Chicken Divan: Mix cream of soup, 2tsp lemon juice, 1 C mayo & chicken. Layer over spinach or broccoli, sprinkle with cheese. Bake at 350 till hot.

Chicken Mac ‘n Cheese: Add to favorite Mac ‘n Cheese

And there you have it! I am sure if you sit and think you can add even more to the list!

After learning all these great ways to use precooked ground meat, meatballs & chicken to make quick and easy dinners won’t you just feel terribly guilty if you run through the drive thru instead?

Photo by stevendepolo