I found chicken leg quarters for 70cents a pound at Super Walmart so I bought 10 pounds. With it I made: 45Chicken Taquitos, two bags of shredded chicken for soup, 3 bags of chopped chicken for chicken salad sandwiches, and 14cups of chicken broth frozen in 2cup and 3cup portions.
I also price matched and bought bell peppers 3/1$ I bought 6 red, and 12 green -sliced them and froze for future use.
I knew I wanted to premake some easy lunches so I also bought a 24pack of gluten/dairy free hotdogs and sliced them into thirds and made 72 mini cog dogs. Total cost(not including staples I had on hand) $20.00(including the premade tortillas) This will make 2dinners and 10 lunches for me and 4kids. about $1.66 per meal. Ready to eat, ofcourse I will add rice/crackers/fruits/veggies to make complete meals.
Oven Baked Chicken Taquitos
These are very easy to make! I purchased premade tortillas. I used 3chicken leg quarters, boiled, shredded and then tossed into the food processor. I added some mild diced green chilis(but you could add anything here you like. some ideas would be: salsa, taco seasoning, *cheese shreds) Then I warmed tortillas between moistened paper towels for 1minute. I removed one tortilla at a time and spooned on about 1 Tbs of the chicken mixture. I spread it out across one end and rolled tightly. I layed them on a greased(with canola oil) cookie sheet seam side down(they stayed easily so long as they were rolled tightly and the tortilla was warm and very soft) I filled the cookie sheet and then brushed them with canola oil and baked for about 20minutes at 375.
Homemade Mini Corndogs
The kids love these! I love that I was able to make 75 of them for the cost of a 24pack of hotdogs!
I tossed a whole banana and 1.5cups of ricemilk into the blender. I added several Tbs of honey and blended while I prepared dry ingredients. I then added two cups of all purpose gluten free flour, 1cup cornmeal, 2 t. baking powder, 2 t, salt and pepper, 1/2 t baking soda, 1/2 t. cayenne pepper to a bowl and mixed well. I then took a gallon sized ziplock bag and dumped in a few Tbs of corn starch and added a few hand fulls of the hotdog portions. I zipped it shut and shook it up fully coating each piece. Next I added canola oil to my deep fryer and set the temp to 375. Finally I added the blended banana, rice milk and honey to the dry mixture in the bowl. I mixed well and then put it in the fridge until the oil was to temp. I cooked about 6 mini corn dogs at a time. I first dropped them into the batter bowl and made sure they were fully covered. I used tongs to pick them up and drop them into the hot oil. When they were golden brown I removed them and drained on a cookie sheet covered with paper towels. I frozen them on a second cookie sheet before placing them in freezer bags to store.
Chicken Broth
I cook 3 chicken leg quarters at a time. I place them into a pot and cover with water. Add: chopped onion, a handfull of carrots, a few stalks of celery, a bay leaf and salt and pepper. I bring to a boil and then reduce heat and simmer until chicken is fully cooked and pulling away from the bones. I then use tongs to remove the chicken and place into a collander. I add three more leg quaters and enough water to refill the pot. Return to a boil and then simmer. When I remove all the meat off the first 3 leg quarters I return the bones to the soup pot. I continue to repeat this process until I have cooked all the chicken. Finally I strain the broth into a large mixing bowl and refridgerate. When the fat has seperated and solidified(I do this the next day) I remove it with a spoon and then measure 2cup portions of broth into gallon size ziplocks and freeze flat.
