Looking for ways to save money or wondering what to do with that leftover chicken? I know I’m always looking for ways to stretch out a meal for a family of five.
One way I do that is by using leftovers from a whole pastured chicken in a variety of meals. I gathered up 3 recipes that I’ll be using for my family that you can use with leftover farm fresh chicken when you want to save money and stretch your budget to enjoy around your table.
#1 CHICKEN PAD THAI
One of my fave take-out dishes is Pad Thai, but it’s not always in the budget to order out. All is not lost though, since making this at home, this is Tom’s favorite meal and a request I get most often, and you can easily make at home. It’s a tangy and delicious combination of noodles, vegetables, and chicken all tossed in a sweet and sour sauce with a little bit of spice that you can adjust by adding more or less cayenne pepper.
Cook the noodles just enough so that they are chewy to perfection. To make this easy chicken pad Thai recipe, you’ll need:
Pad Thai Sauce:
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1/3 cup chicken stock
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3 tablespoons rice vinegar or white vinegar
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1 tablespoon lime juice
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3 to 4 tablespoons brown sugar
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2 tablespoons fish sauce (or Oyster Sauce as I couldn’t find it in our local grocery store)
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1 tablespoon soy sauce
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1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Pad Thai:
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1 to 2 Strandquist Family Farm chicken breasts, 1 to 2 thighs, chopped into small pieces or a whole chicken cut up
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1 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce
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8 ounces pad Thai rice noodles
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2 to 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
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3 to 4 cloves garlic, minced
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1 to 2 red chiles or green chiles, finely sliced
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1 teaspoon grated galangal or ginger (or pre-grated ginger)
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2 large eggs
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2 cups bean sprouts
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4 green onions, sliced
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1 lemon or lime, cut into wedges, for serving
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1/3 cup dry-roasted unsalted peanuts, chopped
STEPS:
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Combine the chicken stock, rice vinegar, lime juice, brown sugar, fish sauce, 1 tablespoon soy sauce, and cayenne pepper in a cup or small bowl, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Set aside.
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Place the chopped chicken in a bowl and toss with the 1 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce. Set aside.
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Bring a large pot of water to boil. Add the rice noodles and cook approximately 6 minutes, or until soft enough to bend easily but still firm and a little crunchy when you try to eat it (undercooked by regular standards). Drain and rinse noodles briefly with cold water to keep them from sticking. Set aside.
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Heat a wok or large frying pan over medium-high heat and add oil. Next, toss in the garlic, chili, and galangal or ginger. Stir-fry 1 minute.
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Add the chicken and stir-fry 5 minutes or until chicken is opaque.
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When pan becomes dry, add 1 to 2 tablespoons of the pad Thai sauce—just enough to keep ingredients frying without drying out.
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Push the ingredients to the side of the pan (if the pan is dry, add in a little oil). Crack the eggs into the empty space and stir-fry quickly to scramble.
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Add the drained noodles plus 3 to 4 tablespoons of the pad Thai sauce. Lift and turn the noodles with the other ingredients. Continue in this way, adding more sauce every minute or two, until all the sauce has been added and noodles are chewy and a little bit sticky, 8 to 10 minutes.
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Fold in the bean sprouts and green onion. Remove from heat and taste-test, adding more fish sauce or lemon/lime until the desired taste.
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Add a lemon or lime wedge on the side and top with a sprinkle of chopped peanuts.
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Serve with stir-fried veggies.
[inspired and edited www.thespruceeats.com]
#2 EASY TORTILLA PIZZA
Need a easy and fast recipe that the kids will love? Double, triple, quadruple, etc. this recipe for an easy way to prepare a yummy individual pizza. You can do any sort of variation of toppings and the kids can decorate as they like. :-)
WHAT YOU NEED:
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1 (8 inch) soft flour tortilla (or double recipe for more)
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1 teaspoon olive oil
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1 pinch garlic powder
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salt and ground black pepper to taste
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3 tablespoons tomato sauce
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1 cooked SFF chicken breast or other parts of a whole chicken, sliced
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½ green bell pepper, chopped, optional (my kids will pick these off lol)
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2 green onions, finely chopped, optional (ditto)
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⅓ cup shredded mozzarella cheese
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1 pinch dried oregano
STEPS:
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Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
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Place tortilla on a baking sheet. Brush with olive oil; sprinkle garlic powder, salt, and pepper on top.
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Bake in the preheated oven until golden, 3 to 5 minutes. Remove tortilla from the oven and spread tomato sauce on top. Arrange chicken, green bell pepper, and green onions over tomato sauce; cover with mozzarella cheese.
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Bake in the preheated oven until cheese is melted, about 4-5 minutes. Sprinkle oregano over cheese. Slice pizza into wedges using a pizza cutter.
[inspired and edited allrecipes.com]
#3 GREEK CHICKEN PASTA
Just yum is all I can say!
WHAT YOU NEED:
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1 (16 ounce) package linguine pasta or rigatoni pasta
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½ cup chopped red onion
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1 tablespoon olive oil
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2 cloves garlic, crushed
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1 pound SFF leftover chicken meat – cut into bite-size pieces
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1 (14 ounce) can marinated artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
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1 large tomato, chopped
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½ cup crumbled feta cheese
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3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
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2 tablespoons lemon juice
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2 teaspoons dried oregano
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salt and pepper to taste
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2 lemons, cut into wedges, for garnish
STEPS:
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Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook pasta in boiling water until tender yet firm to the bit, 8 to 10 minutes; drain.
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Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic; sauté until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Stir in the chicken and cook, stirring occasionally, until chicken is no longer pink in the center and the juices run clear, about 5 to 6 minutes.
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Reduce heat to medium-low; add artichoke hearts, tomato, feta cheese, parsley, lemon juice, oregano, and cooked pasta. Cook and stir until heated through, about 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from heat, season with salt and pepper, and garnish with lemon wedges.
Click HERE to see your options for whole chickens + cut ups.
Best,
Tessa