Chicken TRI-Recipe
I call this a Tri-recipe because you can make it into 3 super easy and super cheap meals to feed a few or feed a crowd! I love that.
I'd like to aside here for a moment and say I am sorry for not updating in so long. I honestly have been so damn busy with this baby! He's teething, learning to walk, and eating more solids than ever! So I have a full plate. I think I will return to my focus of foods and recipes for a while. I find that the easiest to update at least once a month about. And I haven't even had time for much sewing so I can't post those projects just yet. But I do plan on listing some links I have been shown recently in an up coming post so stay tuned for that!
On with the Tri-recipe!
For this whole group of recipes you will need:
Bone in chicken - at least 2 pounds white or dark or both
Bell peppers - at least 2
Onions - at least 3
Garlic cloves - about 3, more if you like
Celery stalks - at least 2
Carrots - at least 2
28 ounce can diced tomatoes - at least one
Dried Italian herbs
Pastas - spaghetti and small style like bowtie - at least a half pound of each
Rotel style tomatoes - at least 2 cans
Chicken broth - at least one can up to a whole box
Can of refried beans - at least one small size
Tortilla chips - enough to have some for each serving - the bottom of the bag or stale ones will even work!
Cream of Chicken or mushroom soup - at least one of either
Cheese shredded - at least 3 cups (Optional additional cup for one recipe)
Frozen veggies - as much as you'd like or need - I like peas, peas and carrots or mixed veg mix
Optional extras:
Parmesan
Cilantro
Green onions
Sour cream
Avacado
The majority of these things I keep on hand with the exception of the chicken, tortilla chips and the extras. Everything else is pretty much working from the cupboard for me. I may have to double check to be sure I have things.
The ingredients listed above are listed with "at least" as a guideline. For each recipe I give ways to make them bigger and you will then need to then increase your ingredients list by however much you need to increase your recipe.
I wrote these under the assumption that you would freeze batches of the original for use in the later two, however, you could just put the two batches in the fridge and make up the follow up recipes right in a row. They all differ enough from one another that it isn't like having plain old chicken 3 nights in a row!
First you make:
Crockpot Chicken Cacciatore
You'll need lots of chicken. Mine totaled over 2 pounds but there's only two of us eating it so for 3 meals that was plenty. You can make do with this amount of meat if you bulk up the other areas too. Bone in is best (and cheapest) for crock pots. I used all bone in skin on breasts. You could do this with a whole cut up chicken or just some thighs or legs. Legs may not be best because you'll want a lot of the meat for the other 2 recipes.
Start with your chicken. I pulled off the skin. I highly recommend this though it is optional. Than salt and pepper pretty liberally on the meat. Dredge in flour and brown outside in a olive oil in a very hot pan. Only a couple minutes. You aren't cooking the chicken just getting some good color and flavor. I only do this on the meaty side of my breasts.
While that's cooking in batches, put together in a large bowl, one 28 ounce can of petite diced tomatoes (or regular dice if you prefer), one chopped onion, 2 chopped bell peppers, a few cloves of garlic minced, and some dried Italian herbs, like basil and oregano. Here is where you bulk up if you need to use less meat but make more food. Use two cans of tomatoes, extra onion and pepper and throw in a celery or two for good measure.
Put meat in the bottom of the crock pot, one layer, spoon over some tomato mixture. Another layer of meat, top with tomato. I only had the two layers of meat, but you keep going until you are full up and topped with tomato mixture. It should be a it of a tight fit in a medium sized pot. But by the end of the day, it'll all cook down. Set to low, 6-8 hours.
The longer is cooks, the more the bones start to fall apart and become harder to get out so don't go too much over 9 hours if you can avoid it just for your own sake.
When it's ready, pull out the bones first, then shred the chicken making it into smaller chunks. Take and fill two 1 quart sized freezer bags with the mixture and set aside for later usage. The rest is for tonight's dinner! Serve over spaghetti with a side salad or even some bread. Top with Parmesan cheese if you like. Yummy.
Next meal:
Tortilla Soup
Take one of you bags from the freezer ahead of time and thaw.
In a large soup pot on the stove sauté some celery, carrots, and onions in olive oil. For 3 -4 people you need about 2 medium sized carrots and celery, but for more don't stop there. Use 4 carrots and celery and a whole onion or more. And don't stress about the chopping job here people. Its a soup. But if you have a family that isn't into the veggie thing and you are sneaking carrots in on them you may want to take the time to finely dice them! ;)
Theses need to sauté for about 10 minutes or close to over a medium heat to get nice and tender and fragrant. Then comes the goods.
Mix in you chicken mixture. We're talking about 3 cups of mixture here you know so there's not a whole lot of chicken going on. But in a soup it seems to be more than enough!
Then add as much or as little as you need of these next ingredients:
canned refried beans
canned Rotel style tomatoes
canned chicken broth
For 3-4 people one small can of refried beans is plenty. I wouldn't use more than maybe 3 small cans or one of those big cans though no matter how many you are feeding. You can bulk up more in other areas and I think it may just weigh down the soup with too much.
I used about a half quart of chicken broth for 4 people. Use up to 2 quarts or six cans easily for extra! It can be soupy, it's a soup! Plus you serve it with tortilla chips so broth is good to soak into the salty chips.
For the Rotel tomatoes I wouldn't skip it, it's a spicy soup, but I love spicy. If you and your family do not you could sub a can of diced tomatoes. You could also bulk up here by adding one can Rotel and one can diced tomatoes.
Once all the canned liquids are added, stir really well and let it come to a bubble. Reduce heat and simmer for maybe 10 minutes or so. Let the smell fill the house and the kids and hubby will come running!
Put some broken stale old chips in the bottom of a bowl, spoon the steaming soup over it, top with a small amount of shredded cheese. For 3-4 people you need about 1 cup shredded cheese but of course you could use more or less. Or skip it all together, it isn't needed!
If you're feeling fancy top it with chopped fresh cilantro or green onions or a dollop of sour cream or even diced avocados if they're on sale!
Meal #3:
Cheesy Chicken Bake
This one is so fun and easy and you can make it about a billion ways depending on what you have on hand.
Take bag of leftover cacciatore out of the freezer and thaw.
Preheat the oven to 350.
Start your pasta water.
Then I like to chop an onion and celery and saute in a bit of butter or olive oil. Use a big pan for this! After a few minutes add the thawed chicken mixture and heat it through.
Salt the pasta water before adding the pasta and set your timer to about 4 minutes under the time the box says. You will be adding the frozen veggies in this to cook for a bit at the end. And the pasta needs to be a bit al dente with a bite to it because it has to bake and it will keep moving forward in the oven.
When the pasta is going and your chicken is heated add the canned soup and Rotel style tomatoes to the chicken.
To make this meal go really far, use a whole pound of pasta and both cans of cream soup (chicken and mushroom). To feed two with lots of leftovers, I use half a package of pasta and one can.
Once the soup and tomatoes are mixed in add the cheese in handfuls reserving a good size amount to top with before it goes in the oven. Honestly to keep my husband happy, I have to use 3 cups of shredded cheese, 2 mixed in and one on top. I have tried to use less and he noticed. I like it better with less but most people prefer more cheese. If you are making a bigger batch I would use more even than the 3 cups.
When you add your veggies to the pasta, reset the timer, making sure the total cooking time for the pasta comes to about one minute under what the box tells you. For example, the box says 10-11 minutes. Set the first timer for 5 minutes. Add the veggies and set timer for 4 minutes. Total pasta time comes to 9 minutes, one minute under.
Drain the pasta and veggies really well and stir them into the chicken and cheese mixture. Pour the whole thing into a baking dish or two if need be. Top with remaining cheese and cook at 350 for about 20-25 minutes. It should be bubbly and the top cheese will melt.
To make it fancy, top with diced green onions.
This is not very spicy with one can of Rotel but if that is too much, substitute a small can of diced tomatoes drained a bit.
You can add any fresh veggies you have on hand too in with the initial onion, or you can skip that step totally and just heat up your chicken mixture in a pan.
I hope you will try these 3 recipes for your family soon and let me know how they like them!
