What to do with 40 lbs of Chicken

 The other day I found a co-op that was offering 40 lbs of chicken for bulk purchase.   I used to buy bulk chicken like that all the time and make freezer meals back when Zaycon Fresh was around.  It is really nice to have something I can just pull out of the freezer and cook or have ready.  It helps with meal planning and daily clean up too.  I was so excited to see the availability, I jumped right in.  

It was then time to figure out what meals I was going to put in the freezer.   I have a small collection of freezer recipes that I have gathered from thefamilyfreezer.com and onceamonthmeals.com websites over time.   They offer free downloads that I have taken advantage of.   I also have some standard recipes that we love that I put together and freeze.   Really anything that is chicken and a marinade, can be assembled and frozen and then you defrost and grill or cook.   

I have catalogued some of these recipes on Plan to Eat (although I have not been as organized as I would like with that) and also have some in files on my computer.    For this event...as that is what it is an event of chicken going to the freezer.  I pulled a couple recipes from a group I received from OAMMs.  It was a collection from other websites.  The first came from thepinningmama.com and had a couple of tweaks to it.  This is the first time I've made this one so hoping its as good as it sounds.  :)

Easy Chicken Parmesan Bake--Dump and Go Dinner

The Pinning Mama and Once a Month Meals

Creates 2 meals of 4 servings each in a 8x8 baking pan

2 pounds Chicken, Boneless Breasts

1 1/3 cups marinara sauce

5 1/3 individual provolone cheese slices

1/3 cup bread crumbs (italian)

1/3 cup parmesan cheese (shredded)

Divide chicken among the indicated number of baking pans.  Cover chicken with marinara and then the provolone.  Mix togeher the breadcrumbs and parmesan cheese.  Sprinkle evenly over the chicken.   Cover with Foil.  Label and freeze.  

Day of:  Preheat oven to 350 degrees, bake a 350 for 35-45 minutes until the chicken is cooked through.    Personally---I would defrost over night in the fridge before placing in the oven and then use a thermometer to make sure the chicken reaches 165.  

Serve with a green salad and pasta, garlic bread.   

Baked Chicken Cordon Bleu--Dump and Go Dinner (pictured above)

A Mind Full Mom and Once a Month Meals

Creates 2 meals of 4 servings each in a 8x8 baking pan.

8 individual Chicken boneless breasts

2 teaspoons salt

2 teaspoons Black Pepper

8 teaspoons dijon mustard (I used regular)

8 individual deli Ham slices

8 individual Swiss Cheese slices

2 cups white wine (I substituted chicken broth)

If chicken breasts are large, pound flat to a uniform thickness.  (I am so too lazy to do this.  I cut the chicken in half and arranged it in the pan so that it looked more uniform)  Divide chicken among indicated number of baking dishes.  Season with Salt and Pepper.  Brush chicken with dijon mustard (or just take the mustard container and squirt what looks like an appropriate amount over the chicken, like I did...)  Cover each chicken with ham then top with swiss cheese.  (since I cut the chicken in half, I also cut the pieces of ham into smaller pieces.)  Top with swiss cheese.  Pour wine (or broth) around chicken.  Cover with foil.  Label and freeze.

Day of:  Preheat oven to 375 F.  Bake at 375 for 25 min or until internal temp reaches 165.   

Be careful stacking these ones...they will leak with the liquid in there.   Also, I would take out of the freezer and refrigerate the night before.  I suspect this will take 45 min to cook if not more when frozen.  

These next two recipes are marinades that my family really likes.  We grill this chicken.   I sliced the breasts into strips to make them easier to handle.   The 40 lbs of chicken comes as double breasts so I was cutting them up anyway.  

Manti Chicken

1 cup sprite

1/2 cup soy sauce

2 Tablespoons Olive oil

1/4 teaspoon Granulated Garlic

1/8 teaspoon horseradish (I found powdered and use that instead of the prepared)

Mix all ingredients together, pour over 2-3 lbs chicken that you have placed in a ziplock freezer bag.  (Label it first) seal and then freeze.   Remove from freezer 1-2 days before cooking.  Grill.  Chicken is cooked when it reaches 165F by thermometer in the thickest part. 

Serve with a salad, crusty bread and ranch dressing...we love dipping this in ranch. 

Fajita Chicken

2-3 lbs chicken sliced

3 Limes, juiced

3 Tablespoons fajita seasoning  

Mix juice and seasoning.  Pour over chicken that you have placed in a ziplock freezer bag. (label first!)

Freeze.   Remove from freezer 1-2 days before grilling.  Grill until chicken is 165 in the thickest part.  

Make fajitas with tortillas, cheese, sour cream, salsa, lettuce, tomato, avocado and sautéed onions and peppers if desired.

The rest of the chicken (yes there was more!)  I threw into a crockpot with a container of salsa.  I let it cook until it shredded and then let it cool and put in bags to freeze.  This can be used anyway you want to use shredded chicken.  Tacos, burritos, enchiladas just to name a few.   In the past I have used a dry packet of italian dressing instead of the salsa.  That shredded chicken is great in wraps, chicken salad and more.   Easy to use and versatile!

Let me know how you enjoy these recipes! 

Cashew Chicken

A favorite chicken recipe of ours.  So easy!  It is from Leanne Ely's book Saving Dinner.  A great book if you want recipes, side dishes, menus and shopping lists all in one!  She also has a website.  check it out!  I found her through the Flylady website, if you are anything like me, uh, not so organized!!  You will like the flylady! 

I hope you enjoy this recipe.

3/4 cup orange juice
1/3 cup honey
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 T cornstarch
1 t ground ginger
1 t garlic powder
1/2 t pepper
2 T vegetable oil, divided
2 large carrots, chopped
1 celery stalk, chopped
4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves, cut into 1-inch strips
1 cup cashews

Combine juice, honey, soysauce, cornstarch and seasonings. 
In a large skilet, heat 1 T oil until it begins to smoke.  Stir-fry vegtables for several minutes until the vegetables become bright.  Set aside and keep warm.

In the same skillet, heat another tablespoon of oil until smoking and stir-fry chicken strips until browned and tender.
Add cooked vegetables, cashews and sauce mixture.  Continue cooking until sauce bubbles and thickens.

You can add 4 green onions, chopped--I left it out due to my hubby's extreme dislike 

Serve with brown rice and spinach salad

Serves 6

265 calories
15 g fat
5 g Protein
31 g carb
3 g fiber

Chicken Tortilla Soup

If you are wondering what to do with leftover refried beans, or want just an easy recipe that uses your food storage, here is the one for you!  Full of fiber, and very tasty this recipe is really easy and sure to please.

Chicken Tortilla Soup

2 cans, 14.5 oz, Diced tomatoes
1 4.5 oz can diced green chiles
2 cans 14.5 oz chicken broth  (2 cups water, 2 tsps chicken base)
1 can 14.5 oz whole kernel corn, drained
2 cups refried beans (I used the dried from the cannery same amount not reconstituted)
2 cups shredded cooked chicken (I used 2 cans from costco and the broth)
corn chips
shredded Monterey Jack cheese

Combine tomatoes, green chiles, and broth in medium saucepan.  Stir in beans and corn.  Bring to a boil; reduce heat to low and simmer 5 minutes, stirring frequently.  Add chicken; heat through.  Top with corn chips and cheese.

8 svgs of 272 grams each. 
Nutrition Facts


Serving Size 272 g
Amount Per Serving

Calories 178Calories from Fat 24
Total Fat 2.7g
Saturated Fat 0.7g
Trans Fat 0.0
Cholesterol 32mg
Sodium 282mg
Total Carbohydrates 24.2g
Dietary Fiber 6.5g
Sugars 4.6g
Protein 16.2g
Vitamin A 20% • Vitamin C 40%
Calcium 6% • Iron 11%

Dinner tonight: Enchiladas

Since this is a forcast post, I will put up pictures later, not like I have been putting up a ton of pics lately anyway...  I really like enchiladas in fact I have multiple recipes that I alternate.  I will put up the two I use the most.  The first is a more cheesy version with a salsa taste.  The second is more of the creamy sauce.  Both are very good!

Chicken Enchiladas

2 cups cooked chopped chicken
1 cup chopped green pepper
1 pkg 8 oz cream cheese, cubed
8 oz salsa divided
8 6 inch flour tortillas
12 oz cheddar cheese cubed
1/4 cup milk

Stir chicken, bell pepper, cream cheese and 1/2 cup salsa in saucepan on low heat until cream cheese is melted.  Spoon 1/3 cup chiken mixture down center of each tortilla; roll up.  Place, seam side down in lightly greased 12x 8 baking dish.  Stir cheese and milk in sauce pan over low heat until smooth.  Pour over tortillas.  Cover with foil.  Bake at 350 for 20 min.  Or until thoroughly heated.  Pour remaining salsa over tortillas.

This is my recipe of choice for tonight only I am going to use the full fat cream soup and plain greek yogurt instead of sour cream.
Lower Fat Chicken Enchiladas

1 package flour tortillas
2 cups cooked chicken breast cut in chunks
2 cans low fat cream of chicken soup
1 cup lioght or non-fat sour cream
2 1/2 cups light cheddar or mozzarella cheese
1 can green chiles
1/2 cup milk

Combine chicken, 1 can soup sour cream, 2 c cheese and chiles.  Mix well.
Warm tortillas; fill each with about 2 Tbsp chicken mixture.  Fold in ends and roll up.  Lay rolls, seam side down in 9 x 13 inch pan, sprayed with pam. 
Mix remaining filling with other can of soup, 1/2 c cheese and milk.  Pour over top of enchiladas.  Cover lightly with foil and bake 30 minutes at 350.

Chicken Oriental salad

My aunt used to bring this salad to most family occasions.  I just remember being so amazed that the cabbage tasted so good with the ramen!  Very tasty and slightly addicting salad!

Chicken Oriental Salad
2 chicken breast halves
2 TB slivered almonds, toasted if desired *
1/2 head cabbage, finely chopped (about 4 c)
2 green onions, sliced
1 pkg Ramen oriental noodles chicken flavor
2 Tbsp toasted sesame seeds*
1 Tbsp sugar
1/2 c vegetable oil
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
3 Tbsop vinegar
1/2 tsp MSG (optional)
salad greens
Tomato wedges

Cook chicken in small amount of water, covered, until tender, aobut 20 to 30 minutes, skin, bone and dice chicken to make 2 cups.  Combine chicken with alonds, cabbe green onions, and uncooked noodles that have been broken up with envelope of seasonings, set aside.  In glass jar, combine sugar, oil, salt, pepper, vinegar, and MSG.  Shake until blended.  Pour over salad, toss.  Add more salt and pepper as needed.  Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or for as long as 24 hours.  Serve on crisp salad greens garnished with tomato wedgs.  Makes 8-10 servings. 

*Toasted sesame seeds and almonds:  To toast sesame seeds, spread in shallow pan in single layer;bake at 350 for 2-3 minutes, stirring occasionally.  To toast slivered almonds, spread in single layer in shallow pan; bake at 350 for about 5 minutes.

Creamy Chicken Soup

This recipe is a tasty creamy soup.  If you leave out the cheese it saves you 200 calories a serving.  But then this soup wouldn't be nearly as good!  I am a cheese lover I guess.  It sure warms the soul on a cold day, and is quite easy.  I adapted it to use my powdered milk, but if you prefer regular milk just use 4 cups instead of the powdered and water.  Let me know what you think!

Creamy Chicken Soup

2T butter
3 stalks celery

1 cup chopped carrots

5 T cornstarch
4 cups water
12 T Powdered milk  (wisk with water)
1 3/4 cup chicken broth
8 oz sharp cheddar shredded or cut in small chunks
1 12.5 oz can chicken breast
2 tsp worcesterchire sauce
2 tsp fresh black pepper

In a six quart dutch oven, saute vegies in butter until crisp tender.  About 10 minutes.  Stir in cornstarch.  Slowly add milk (or reconstituted powdered milk), chicken broth, worcestershire sauce and black pepper.  Cook and stir until thickened and bubbly.  Stir in chicken and cheese.  Allow cheese to melt, stirring frequently.  Then Enjoy!

Serves 4

Cals 580
Fat 28.6
Carbs 26.1
Fiber 1.3
Protein 52.5

Mom's Chicken Fajitas

Ohhhh, so good!  These are the best fajitas!  What really makes them the best is the southwest seasoning we use from Penzey's spices.  They are good with chili powder but the Southwest seasoning makes them that much better!  We have cooked these on the smoker, bbq, and under the broiler.  The bbq by far makes them the most tasty but all versions are good!  We usually make extra and have the chicken on pizza in salad or anything else you can imagine.

3 lbs.  boneless, skinless chicken breasts.

Marinade:

1/2 cup oil
1/2 cup lime and or lemon juice.  Lime works the best
2 tsp sugar
4 tsp oregano
4 tsp chili powder (or southwest seasoning)
4 cloves chopped garlic (2 tsp garlic powder)
1-2 tsp fresh ground black pepper

Mix oil, lime juice and spices together for marinade.  Put chicken in a gallon zip-lock bag.  Pour marinade over chicken.  Seal and place bag in flat container.  Refrigerate for at least 4 hours, no longer than 24 hours, turning bag over at least once.

To put them together:

Fresh limes
10 large flour tortillas
2 onions sliced
2 green re or yellow bell peppers, cut into 1/4 inch strips
salsa or picante sauce
shredded cheddar or monterey jack cheese
guacamole or avocado slices
sour cream
shredded lettuce
chopped fresh tomato

Place chicken on broiler or grill.  Sprinkle with southwest seasoning or chili powder.  Broil until chicken is beginning to blacken.  Turn pieces and broil 5-10 minutes longer until cooked through.  Slice meat in thin strips.  Squeeze fresh lime juice over meat.  Saute onions and peppers until crisp-tender in saute pan sprayed with oil spray.  Squeeze fresh lime juice over vegetables when just ready to take off heat.  Wrap tortillas in foil and heat in 325 oven until warm, or warm one at a time over open flame on gas stove, being careful to watch so they don't burn.  Immediately place in foil wrapped in a towel.

To serve:  Place some chicken onion mixture, salsa cheese, guacamole, sour cream and lettuce in center of tortilla.  Fold 1 end up about 1 inch over mixture; fold right and left sides over folded end.

This is best served buffet style. 

I hope you enjoy these as much as we do!

Easy Chicken Cordon Bleu and Shirley Caziers Chicken

This is a fantastic recipe that is a version of one I usually make called Shirley Caziers Chicken.  I found this on the everyday food storage website, take a look if you want to see how she did it.  I have made a few variations of my own.  When I made it I used Magic mix which is a combination of Powdered milk, butter and cornstarch that you can use in place of cream soups.  Check out this link to learn more about that.  I used regular cream of chicken soup in my nutrition calculations so I will leave the recipe that way.

Easy Chicken Cordon Bleu

8 Boneless Chicken Breasts
4 oz or 8 thin slices of ham
8 oz or 8 thin slices swiss cheese
1-1/2 cans cream of chicken soup
1/2 cup water
1 box Stove top for chicken Stuffing
1/2 cup water more

Layer chicken, cheese and ham in a 9 x 13 baking dish.   Mix soup with water and pour over chicken.  Sprinkle stovetop over mixture in baking dish.  Boil second cup of water pour over stovetop being sure to get all bread crumbs moist.  Bake covered at 350 for 45 minutes.  Uncover and bake 15 minutes longer.

Makes 8 servings.  (220 grams each)

437 cals, 22.7 carbs, 20.4 grams fat, 1 gram fiber

Shirley Caziers Chicken has been a staple in our house for a long time.  My husband calls it one of his favorites.  The only real difference between these two recipes is the ham.  They are pretty tasty!  Also this version uses sour cream and one cup of cream soup instead of the 1 1/2 cans of the other.  The taste is pretty comparable.   I think I am going to have to try to make this one with the magic mix!

8 boneless skinless chicken breasts
8 slices swiss cheese
1 can cream of chicken soup
1/2 can milk or sour cream
1 package chicken flavored stuffing mix

Place chicken breasts in a 9x13 pan sprayed with non stick spray.  Place a slice of swiss cheese over each breast.  Mix soup and milk or sour cream and pour over the chicken and cheese.  Mix the stuffing according to the package directions.  Spread the stuffing over the top of the chicken and cheese.  Bake at 350 for 45 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.  Makes 8 servings  (7 Weight watchers points per serving)

Both recipes are very tasty and very easy.  Give them a try and tell me what you think!

Marinated Turkey Breasts (Manti Chicken)

This is our very favorite chicken recipe.  We make them out on our smoker, but they are just as good if not better cooked on the bbq. I use a bag of chicken breast tenders from costco-but it is just as good with turkey or chicken breast.  Dip into ranch dressing and have a salad on the side.  Yummy!!

1 cup lemon-lime soda  (I have also used ginger ale)
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup oil
1/8 tsp garlic powder
1/8 tsp horseradish

Mix ingredients together.  Slice breasts length wise 3/4 inches thick  (If using tenders just put them in)  Marinate 3-4 hours or overnight in refrigerator.
Grill until meat is white and juices run clear, about 10 minutes.  6 out of 5 stars.  The best!

Salsa Chicken

The counterpart to Chicken and corn chili would be salsa chicken.  It is meant to be over rice but as soon as we tried it that way, we knew we had to try it in a tortilla.  Ahhh, heaven!!  This chicken is so very easy to make I just use the frozen breasts right out of the freezer it shreds so easy and tastes oh so good.  DH believes this recipe to be just as good as his favorite hole in the wall mexican restaurant.  The link to where I found it is here.


Crock Pot Salsa Chicken

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts 

1 cup salsa

1 package taco seasoning

1 can cream of mushroom soup

Add chicken to crockpot. Cover with salsa taco mix and soup.   Cook on low for 6 to 8 hours.  Shred chicken and mix into sauce.  Serve on warmed tortillas with cheese and sour cream, lettuce, tomato and olives if desired.

Five Stars!

Chicken and Corn Chili

One of the things I like to do when looking for something to cook is to google it.  I find some good recipes that way.  This is one I just did a day ago.  DH says that he likes Salsa Chicken better but it is basically the same thing.  I really just liked this one.  This link is the recipe I got, and here is how I tweaked it.  I would add the chili powder and cumin to taste--DH liked it better before I added the tomatoes and beans.

Chicken and Corn Chili

4 skinless boneless chicken breast halves (I pulled mine straight from the freezer)
1 16 oz jar salsa (2 cups)
2 teaspoons minced garlic (I buy pre-minced in the bottle)
1-2 teaspoons ground cumin
1-2 teaspoons chili powder
salt and pepper to taste
1 can corn
4 cups pinto beans cooked as directed, or two cans beans
1 can green chilis
1 can diced tomatoes
2 t sugar

Place chicken, salsa and spices in crockpot.  Cook on high for four hours, turn to low for 6 hours and add beans, corn, tomato, chilis and sugar.  I was able to shred the chicken easily after 5 hours but you can pretty much do that as you mix it all together.  Great as just chili, with french bread on the side.  You can also use in a tortilla.  I give this 4 stars of 5.