Make Money and Meals Stretch – Chicken into 10+ Meal Starters
Bulk Chicken on Sale
I turned $20 in Costco chicken breasts into 10+ meal starters. While I think every part of the chicken tastes good, chicken breasts are supreme for versatility in meals starters. Normally the packs are around $25 but they were running a sale for $5 so….yay for me.
- # of breasts – 12
- Average package weight – 8 to 9 lbs
- Normal cost – $2.99/lb
$2.99 per pound is right on par with my local grocery stores so to get it in bulk and on sale was great.
How I broke it down
No matter if I cube it or shred it, I cook the chicken before freezing it. If I am already going through the motions of breaking it down and separating it, I might as well cook it so it makes future me really happy with the quick-meal shortcut. The exception is that I do keep raw frozen chicken breasts stocked because summer grilling wouldn’t be the same without them.
Separate the chicken breasts according to their final destination.
- Shredded
- Cubed
- Sliced into smaller/thinner pieces
- Chicken Tenders
What I ended up with
3 bags of shredded chicken – smaller than the cubed bags
2 bags of cubed chicken – more of the base of the meals than the shredded
1 big bag of cooked sliced chicken – 3 meals
1 big back of cooked chicken tenders/strips – 2 meals
Cooking Shredded Chicken
I simply placed a couple of chicken breasts into water and cooked until fully done and can shred easily. Then take them out of the water and trim any fat or pieces you don’t want mixed in. I use this chicken shredder that takes no time at all to shred meat, even when hot. Once it’s all shredded divide it into freezer safe bags and enjoy later!
One of the best ways to stretch this meat budget is to use it as a pizza topper. Pizza dough is cheap and easy to make or buy and can feed a crowd. You’ll be able to get a couple of pizzas out of one small bag of shredded chicken.
Shredded Chicken uses:
Pizza topper ex: BBQ Chicken Ranch Pizza, Chicken and Dumplings, Buffalo Chicken Wraps, and more
Cubed and Cut Chicken uses:
Chicken fajitas or tacos, Indian chicken and rice, white bean chicken chili
Chicken Strips
As is or on salads – nothing fancy with this one. Nothing quite beats some chicken strips with good dipping sauces.
Is it really worth the effort?
Having the peace of mind knowing you have food in the freezer (or on the shelf) is always a ‘worth-it’ to me. Just with these 7 bags of chicken that I cooked up you can have easily 10+ meal starters. And at $20-$25 for the product, that’s not too shabby. Think if you could squeeze an extra pack or two of bulk chicken in as your budget allows. Those bags of ready-to-go chicken will start stacking up and you can look into better preserving them for more long-term storage. For the extra effort up-front it sure makes the future easier and more secure.
