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Frugal Meals: my Perdue Oven Stuffer Chicken

 

Chicken Soup

Though I’m not a terrible cook, I do NOT enjoy cooking, nor do I want to be doing it. HOWEVER, I’m making an effort and I sent Mr. Sunflower to get a WHOLE CHICKEN while it was on sale! I managed to make three meals out of it. I know, I know. It’s amazing. I deserve a cape, right? Not really, I see a lot of people do this, but I’m going to share with you the way I did it. Mainly, because I know some of you out there are like me, so I hope this will help you out in some way!

Cheap chicken meals for the family

First, I saw Perdue Oven Stuffer Chickens were on sale at the store. They were .89 lb. We needed a decent sized chicken. I’ve got two little ones, ages 2 and 4. They don’t eat a huge amount and I was counting on them not really eating it at all. Picky eaters and all. Mr. Sunflower brought home a 5.87 lbs. chicken, so it cost $5.22 for the chicken.

I told him to bring home: carrots, onions, garlic and celery. Plus some rolls. He did. What did it all cost? Not a whole lot, honestly. Here’s the breakdown:

  • Celery (a very large clump of it): $1.99
  • 1 lb. Organic Carrots: $1.29
  • 2 small onions: $.69
  • 1 Garlic Head: $.76
  • 6 Rolls: normally $3.00, on sale for $1.50 so that’s $.25 per roll

FIRST NIGHT: Roasted Chicken Dinner

Pretty simple, really. Read the directions on the bag, figured out what time to put it in so it would be ready when my husband came home. Opened it up, cleaned out the inside of that bag of grossness, slapped a little Extra Virgin Olive Oil which is a staple in our house, shoved some fresh parsley in the inside (cost me nothing as I grow it and freeze it for the colder months). Some cloves of garlic inside, then threw one in the pan, too. Cut up two carrots, since I’m the only one who eats them. Cut up one of the small onions. Threw it in the preheated oven and waited for the cute little button to pop.

We made boxed Mashed Potatoes that I got as a free sample, since I didn’t have potatoes on hand to do roast potatoes. I told you, I’m not a good cook. You live and  learn!

Cost less than $6.00 for this meal, it fed all four of us. NICE.

NEXT DAY LUNCH with Left Overs: Chicken Sandwich

I used a roll from our stash of 6, took the slice of chicken from the breast and then slapped some mayo on it. Cut up a carrot into little sticks. My lunch for the day. Cost me 25 cents for the roll. Left over chicken, with carrots from the fridge, and Mayo! Basically, I had a great lunch for a quarter.

SECOND NIGHT: Chicken Soup

I LOVE soup. Chicken Soup is one of my favorites. I keep it basic and bare bones, as I don’t like noodles, pasta or rice in my Chicken Soup. Straight chicken, veggies and broth!

I hit the pantry for our Chicken Stock. It was on sale a few months ago, plus we had a coupon, so we stocked up. I have NO CLUE how much this cost, my bad. I believe it cost $.50 thanks to a combination of a store coupon, plus a manufacturers coupon and at the time, Upromise had it on their eCoupons, too.

Simple ingredients

I sauteed onions, carrots (which I grate with a cheese grater, instead of chopping,) celery and garlic in Extra Virgin Olive Oil:

  • One small onion that I just cut in half and then slice up (no chopping, I like long pieces of onion in there)
  • Carrots go in next. I use a lot of carrots, as that’s my favorite.
  • About 4 stalks of celery that I dice up
  • A couple of garlic cloves, minced of course
  • 8 oz. Swanson Chicken stock
  • 8 oz. of filtered water, followed by
  • Dash of Worcestershire Sauce (because I love it, plus it gives it an even deeper color)
  • Fresh Parsley
  • Dried Oregano (however much you like)
  • Shake from the Pepper
  • Shake from the Salt
  • All the leftover chicken parts: wings, legs, plus the meat I removed from the bone

Basically, the meal cost $1.99 (for the celery.) I toasted up a roll to add to my meal. The kids and I had a great meal. The rest I put in the freezer for lunches and dinners in the future! Save me time a couple of afternoons and weekends this coming month!

And this was my first venture into the fabulous world of turning ONE chicken into a variety of meals for about $11.50! Plus, it did NOT take a lot of my time away from the kids on any of the days I was in the kitchen, making meals.

Saved money, saved time and it was actually healthy! Stunningly, it came out of MY KITCHEN. It’s quite the “new year” over here.

By | 2018-01-16T17:29:04-05:00 February 6, 2011|Food|2 Comments

About the Author:

Staci loves to write, and loves to share her "take" on everything thrown her way. Movies, entertainment, food, fashion, shopping, money, travel and family. There's nothing off limits at NovemberSunflower.com, and Staci's always telling it like it is: good, bad, and all that lies in between!

2 Comments

  1. Donna Edwards October 25, 2011 at 9:21 am

    I loved this blog. It is so honest and sweet.

    • November Sunflower October 25, 2011 at 9:30 am

      Thank you. I try to be very transparent with everything I do. So it’s nice to know it’s coming across. Honestly is the best policy! And sweet is a nice extra bonus!

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