I have always been raised around Cows, Pigs, and Chickens. So most of our life we have eaten our own beef but not really pork or chicken. A couple years ago my dad sent one of our pigs to be processed and OH MY LANDS. It was great. Then we went to a different processing plant with our next hog to be butchered and it was 10x better than the last. So we are hooked on butchering our own.
My sister and I are really getting in deep with all the additives in our food and she ordered a video called FOOD INC. from Amazon. This video blew our minds and really made us think twice. It is so hard buying food in the grocery store now because we know how sickening this mess is that we are eating.Do I sound a bit extreme?? Maybe so, but you check out the video for yourself- you will have the same issues we do.
After watching this movie we decided to process a few of our own chickens. Here are some pictures we took during the process.
In fact, my goal for this spring is to raise 20-25 Ranger Reds and butcher after 10-12 weeks. I can store them in my freezer and have a hormone free chicken any time I want! These are a meatier bird and perfect for butchering.
Now I know buying an $8 3lb bag of boneless skinless chicken breast is super easy for fast meals but if you pre plan your meals and take just a few extra minutes you can save so much more by doing a little extra work. When I was growing up my mom always bought whole chickens because it saved money. She literally threw the chicken in a pot with seasonings and boiled away. After it cooled, the chicken meat was shredded off the bone and Mexican Chicken Casserole or Chicken n Dumplings were made in no time!
Even buying chicken in bone but separated is so much cheaper than buying boneless. So if you want to save money on your groceries try buying in bone meats.
With my in bone chicken I thaw out in the refrigerator and place each piece in a 9x13 baking pan and season with a lot of salt & pepper (or my favorite seasoning Cavendars ) and I add minced garlic along with a sprig or two of Rosemary. (My sister taught me this- she uses fresh herbs in just about everything! And I normally pick my own garlic BUT I waited to late and the ground was to hard, at the time I was 7/8 months pregnant and didn't want to tug on them to much but later I will do a post about harvesting garlic.)
Then fill the pan half way with water. You don't want to cover the chicken, just get the water half way to the top. This will keep the meat very moist.
Place the chicken in the oven uncovered at 350 degrees for about 30-40 minutes. The skin will brown nicely on the top.
To know the chicken is finished cooking you can look at the meat and press down with the fork. If the liquid is clear, your meat is cooked thoroughly.
Once your chicken is cooled shred all the meat off the bone. Save your scraps! You can make chicken stock out of those later...
With my shredded meat I made Chicken Fettucini Alfredo for dinner and Mexican Chicken Casserole (shown below) for another night. I even had enough chicken leftover for Chicken Salad Sandwiches for lunch the next day.
Mexican Chicken Casserole
1/2 or 1 onion choppped
2 Tbsp. Butter
1 can cream of chicken
1 can cream of mushroom
1/2-1 block of velveeta cheese
1 can Rotel
1 whole chicken
Heat oven to 350 degrees and spray your 9x13 baking pan. In a sauce pan place 2 Tbsp. butter and half diced onion. Let the onion sweat. Then add half of a block of Velveeta cheese and 1 can of cream of chicken, 1 can cream of mushroom, 1 can of Rotel. Stir until cheese is melted. Throw in shredded chicken and stir. Take a bag of tortilla chips or Doritos Chips and crush contents. Place half the bag of crushed chips on bottom of pan. Pour cheese and chicken mixture over chips and then add the rest if chips over the top. Place in oven at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes.
Chicken Fettucini Alfredo
This has to be one of my kids favorite dishes. It is so easy and fast to make too. If your buying your Alfredo sauce in the jar, Shame on you! This taste a million times better.
Alfredo Sauce:
1 pint Heavy Cream
1 stick of Butter
2 Tbsp. Cream Cheese
1/2-3/4 C. Parmesan Cheese
1tsp. Garlic Powder.
Combine butter heavy cream & butter in a sauce pot. Simmer until all
is melted and mixed well. Add Parmesan cheese and Garlic Powder. Simmer for
15-20 minutes on low. Season with Salt & Pepper. Add Chicken and noodles.
(I almost never use the cream cheese, and I use Garlic Salt instead if powder
and also season with a little Paprika. - you can add some fresh or dried
parsley to fancy it up)
Chicken Stock from Scraps!
In a large pot throw all your chicken scraps in with an onion quartered, celery, carrots, peppercorns, garlic clove, and add water to cover all ingredients. Heat until it comes to a boil then simmer for 3-4 hours. Once cooled, strain liquids and freeze for use later.
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