helping you cook better, smarter, faster
My friends with toddlers love the convenience of store pick up so they don’t have to baby-wrangle while shopping. Some of my older friends like it because they don’t like to walk a big store. My anxious friends may find this a way to avoid that anxiety. But I’m going to play devil’s advocate and show you some advantages of grocery shopping for yourself you might not have considered.
Continue reading “Advantages of grocery shopping for yourself (part 1)”
Ever made a meal, and while it was decent it just wasn’t as tasty as you imagined? And then you had leftovers that weren’t exciting. You’d feel bad if you wasted them, but who wants to eat again something you didn’t find tasty the first time around? What if you could make blah leftovers better?
Continue reading “Make blah leftovers better”
Sadly, one of my favorite foods often gets a bad rap. Avocados are a natural healthy fat and a great addition to any diet. So smooth and creamy, it can even be part of a dessert (see that here). But I wanna share what my daughter and I discovered when she was still living at home. It’s basically the easiest snack ever.
Continue reading “The easiest snack ever”
Just as I would never throw away sauce (see why here), I don’t throw away the liquids that come off cooking meats (particularly chicken) either. Let’s take a look at two BIG reasons you should save that broth (and some money, too)!
Continue reading “Save that broth (and some money, too)!”
With grocery prices continuing to be high, being frugal has become a key strategy to affording good healthy food. There’s some confusion about the meaning of the word frugal, but the key definition for me is “not wasteful” (this is one of a set on dictionary.com here). So, let’s talk about how to take your leftover sauces from sauce to salad dressing.
Continue reading “From sauce to salad dressing”
I love saving time in the kitchen whenever I can. But I also like keeping my budget in line, and today’s prices are making that harder. So, when you see your grocery bill, if you feel sticker shock, remember that healthy food doesn’t HAVE to be expensive. But convenience foods often are.
Continue reading “Healthy food doesn’t have to be expensive”
It’s no secret that grocery stores are trying to make a buck. And I’m fine with that. Every business has expenses – like inventory, building, and staffing costs – that need to be covered, and the owners should make some profit. But these days, with EVER higher prices, savvy and frugal shoppers must watch out for grocery pricing games!
Continue reading “Don’t be fooled…grocery pricing games (part 2)”
I’ve come to love kale in all kinds of different dishes…everything from plain kale chips to soups to smoothies to frittatas. And it’s a fairly reasonable veggie so far as price. But occasionally I find a great deal and want to stock up but know I don’t go through it very fast. What about freezing kale for later?
Continue reading “Freezing kale for later”
You found chicken on sale and bought a lot. Now what? Let’s get a good deal of it cooked (see how here) and shredded so you have an easy shortcut to chicken salad, soups, or even a casserole. But what’s the best way to shred cooked chicken?
There are several options now…including a popular hack that didn’t work quite as well for me as I’d hoped. I’ll break them all down here (AND tell you my favorite) and you can decide what works for your situation.
Anyone can chop chicken meat…no super duper tools or skills required. A good chef’s knife will get the job done. And if you’re dealing with cooked chicken that has cooled off completely or has been refrigerated, this is really your only option…and it will be end up in chunks. But that’s okay. There are times you just don’t have the bandwidth to do it all at once.
If it’s cooled enough to handle, you can certainly pull it into threads by hand. This is the way my mom always did it. I am very sensitive to heat so I was looking for another option.
Maybe you’ve seen the hack to shred chicken with a standing mixer. Well, I don’t have one, but I decided to try my hand mixer. This one has to be done while the chicken is still hot so the fibers of the meat are easily separated.
Put the cooked chicken upside down in your deepest bowl (I started with my chicken breasts right side up and didn’t get very far), dig the beaters in a little bit, and go on low. It took a little work for me to get it all done…maybe starting with smaller chunks would be better. (Never put your hand in the bowl while the mixer is running!)
But here’s what happens eventually…Yep, I sprayed chicken all over the counter. And these are just the biggest pieces…the ones I could actually see flying in the video (see my Instagram reel here). There were LOTS of tiny bits of chicken as well. I’m still finding them stuck on the items that sit on my counter all the time!
My favorite method for shredding remains pulsing it in the food processor. Break the breasts into 2 or 3 chunks after cooling just a couple of minutes, then load in the processor and pulse a few times. Be careful not to put in too much at one time.
If you end up with a couple of pieces still too big, empty out the part that is to your liking, and put those pieces in with the next batch, till all is done.
Once all the meat is chopped, spread it out on a baking sheet and fully cool before freezing it or using it in a cold chicken salad. You don’t want condensation either creating from the temperature difference causing freezer burn OR making your salad soggy.
I freeze mine in 2 or 3 cups worth in quart freezer bags. Most recipes requiring pre-cooked chicken call for these amounts. Most chicken salads call for 1 pound or 3 cups meat.
Let me know which method you use to shred your chicken. And share this tip to save everyone some hassle and clean up!
Ever see a kitchen hack that makes you wonder if it works? I do all the time, and I try to test ‘em so I can let you know things that will make your life easier. This time it’s storing berries in glass jars and YES, it works!
Continue reading “Storing berries in glass jars and a frozen berry treat!”