Cooking Co-ops work best if done once a month.  You can make 20 meals ahead of time, leaving the other 10 nights for things you can’t cook ahead.  We have fish once a week and that needs to be prepared fresh so that eats up 4 more nights a month.  I like to keep 1 or 2 nights a month for going out or take-out (pizza for Family Fun Night…see my other blog about that) Then you have a few nights left open for grilling steaks, chicken, chops etc.  When the month is behind you, you can smile knowing  you’ve served “real” food every night of the month. You’ve saved a ton of money by not ordering out, going through drive-through windows or picking up take-out on your way home from work.  You save time because you come home, plop a ready-made meal in the oven, microwave or stove and with a few quick side dishes your family is ready to sit down for a Leave it to Beaver moment.  Family dinner time, it’s the way things are meant to be.

The kids can set the table the night before (while you pack lunches). With that task done ahead of time, you won’t have to deal with it when you get home from work. These little time saving tricks allow you and the kids more time together in the kitchen to catch up and communicate.  There are lots of time and money saving tricks that work in your favor if you can just incorporate everyone in pitching in to help.  While you cook, homework can be worked on.  Someone clears the table while someone washes and dries.  Mom need not be alone with this chores.  After dinner pack lunches before retiring to the sofa for the night.  The table is set for the next night and you remove tomorrow nights dinner from the freezer and put in the fridge to thaw.  These little changes will only take a few weeks to become habit….and they are good habits you are forming.  You will be shocked at how much money you’ll have by the end of the month since you are not spending fifty bucks every night on the way home.  You’ll also find that you feel better because you are eating fresh food where YOU control the ingredients, the salt, the additives.

If you can find a friend or two to be a part of your co-op cooking, it makes it more fun and shares the work load.  One gal can slice, dice, and chop, the second girl can be the clean-up person.  Everyone in the group should chip in the same amount to make things fair.  I typically cook a multitude of meals simultaneously but for the sake of simplicity, I am going to break down each blog into one basic meat.  Today of course is chicken.  Next we’ll cover ground beef and a few other goodies so keep watching for future recipes.

Cooking co-ops are a wonderful way to use up all the “little bits” left in your fridge each month.  Each person in the co-op cleans out their fridge on cooking day and brings with them the half of onion, the wilted celery, the half jar of Ragu.  It’s amazing what “goodies” you can use up in a meal instead of tossing them in the trash. 

 I shop at COSTCO or one of the other warehouse stores.  I purchase the boneless chicken breasts in the huge packages.  I typically buy 2 packs (each run around $15- $20 or if you find them on sale for buy one get one free at the regular grocery store grab as many as you can afford).

I take one entire pack of boneless breasts and slice them down into thin pieces.  While I am working on this I take the other package and put them in a huge pot of cold water and boil them till fully cooked….this is called muti-task cooking.  While you are handling the meat, your friends can be slicing onions, peppers, mushrooms (see recipes below)

While the other chicken is boiling, take your thin chicken slices and bread them. First I dip them in  an egg /milk mixture then coat with Italian bread crumbs.  (if you have stale bread you can stretch your store bought bread crumbs by adding your own bread, the more kinds of bread you have, the tastier your crumbs) I bread all the chicken and lay on a plate to “set”.  I use a large skillet with oil.  Do not use olive oil to fry. (I use Smart Balance Oil) Carefully fry each chicken breast till golden brown.  As each one is done, lay it on a cookie sheet lined with paper (I use paper grocery bags since they are free and more absorbent (and cheaper) than paper towels.  When you are done frying, place the cookie sheet in the freezer so that each piece freezes individually. 

Once your cutlets are frozen you can put them in a freezer bag.  You will be able to pull out as many pieces as needed on dinner night.    Here are a few ideas on what to make with your cutlets.

Chicken Parmesan.  You can make this ahead.  Line a casserole with your favorite sauce (ie: Ragu) then layer cutlets, then sauce, then shredded mozzarella.  Cover casserole with foil and freeze.  On dinner night all you have to do is plop it in the oven on 350 till cheese is bubbly and chicken is hot all the way through. Serve with a side of pasta and a salad.  YUMMY

Chicken Cutlets.  Simply serve the cutlets as is by heating through in microwave, oven or frying pan. (I thaw the pieces I need the night before)  Kids love these with ketchup and they are so much better then the chicken nuggets you get at the fast food places.

Buffalo Chicken Sandwiches.  These are awesome.  I use a crusty kaiser roll, but any type bun will work.  Heat the chicken, melt a slice of Monetary Jack cheese on top, a dollop of blue cheese dressing, a few squirts of hot sauce, lettuce and tomato.  Fresh and delicious.

Caesar Chicken Salad.  Make a huge salad with romaine lettuce or any other type of lettuce.  Heat the chicken through and slice into strips.  Lay the chicken across the top of the salad and add your favorite dressing.

By this time the boiled chicken is cooked.  Remove the pieces and allow to cool so you can handle them.  Your dice-girl can cut the chicken into bite sized cubes. 

Chicken Supreme.  In large bowl mix one can of any creamy soup (cream of chicken, cream of mushroom, cream of broccoli etc) add a huge scoop of mayonnaise and a huge scoop of sour cream.  Mix all together and toss in chicken cubes (you’ll have to eyeball this based on the size of your family)  Make a box of Stove Top (or store brand) stuffing mix according to the directions on the box. (I make extra stuffing on Thanksgiving and freeze in bags for times like this).  Layer stuffing in bottom of freezable casserole (Foil pans are great for this).  On top of stuffing scoop in the chicken cream mixture.  Sometimes I add a vegetable in with the chicken (broccoli, peas etc).  You can top the casserole with fried onions (like Durkee) or a few more scoops of the stuffing.  Cover with tin foil and freeze.  Thaw night before serving.  Heat for 40 minutes at 350.  I promise you , once you serve this, it will be a family favorite.

Chicken Caccatori.  Drain the frying pan that you just used to fry the cutlets leaving a thin layer of oil in the base of the pan (no need to wash the pan, the drippings will add flavor).  I saute’ garlic, onions, green peppers, and mushrooms till partially cooked.  I add a few scoops of the cubed chicken and a can of tomatoes. ( I use whatever tomatoes I have, crushed,  or whole tomatoes that I cut up) Season with Italian seasoning, salt, pepper and Parmesan cheese.  This is wonderful served over rice.

Chicken Salad.  Add chicken cubes, diced celery and onion with mayonnaise and make you own fresh chicken salad.  Some creative add-ins are walnuts, white grapes, hard boiled eggs, chopped pickles etc.  Get creative.

Chicken Mexicana.  In same fry pan that you just cooked the caccatori in, saute some onions and peppers.  Add a handful of cubed chicken and season with taco or fajita seasoning (it is cheaper to buy taco seasoning in a shaker can for about $1.59 instead of individual packets at .99 each).  You can add jalapeno if you like extra kick.  I serve this in soft tortilla shells with shredded cheese and refried beans.  Top with sour cream and salsa.

Chicken Chili.   Use the same pot you boiled the ckicken in (wash first) Combine chicken cubes, chicken broth (cheaper to buy bullion crystals in a jar instead of chicken broth in cans), shredded cheese like Monterrey or Mexican blend, and a jar of salsa.  You might need to add chicken broth to get the consistency you want.  I also add a can of white beans like navy beans or butter beans, but if you don’t like beans you can skip it.  The best chili you will ever eat.

Separate these meals into Zip Lock bags for each of the members of the co-op.  Make pans of the casseroles for each gal.  Freezing in the plastic bags and laying them flat makes storing them in the freezer easy to stack (be sure to label the bags with a marker) Since the frozen bags are thin, they thaw super fast.  You can heat many of the meals by placing the bag in a put of boiling water or thawing in the microwave.

When you are done all you have to clean is one large pot ( used to boil the chicken and make the chili).  One large frying skillet (used for all the other dishes) a  cutting board and a number of utensils. 

Now that everything is bagged, I allow to cool a little then I stack on top of each other and freeze.  I keep a list of everything in my freezer on the side of the door so I am sure to rotate meals.  I would hate to get to the last 3 days of the month and have 3 bags of chicken chili.  Variety is the spice of life…or so they say.

Next up…..Beef meals to cook ahead.  Hope to see you in the kitchen next time.

Enjoy

Trish