As food costs continue to rise one of the best meat values is still chicken. Recipes your family will love are hard to find, expecially if you have been serving the same old casseroles for awhile.

You can add new flavors and interesting textures without breaking your budget or causing your kids to wail piteously for peanut butter sandwiches. It is a matter of combining things that they all ready like in ways that they haven't tried. Think of it as user-friendly kids meals! 

In recent decades people have gotten away from eating whole chicken and begun to focus on just the chicken breasts. Not only that but they want skinless, boneless chicken breasts. These small, fat free pieces of protein can cost as much as $7.00 a pound if you are buying htem organic, and even the least expensive versions are going to be much higher than almost anything else you can buy except steak.

In truth some of the other chicken parts have more flavor. Thighs can be purchased boneless and skinless as well, and although this is not the least expensive way to buy them, they are signifcantly less that chicken breasts. Cooked and in a pot pie or casserole no one will be able to tell the difference.

Baked or roast, whole chicken is a frugal choice because you can use the meat the first day and turn the carcass into soup for another meal.

Other frugal tips for buying chicken are:

• When chicken is on sale buy in large quantities and freeze.  
• Buy chicken drumsticks in a family pack and season and bake them. Freeze them for quick meals on the go later on. They usually are very inexpensive.
• Learn to bone your own chicken. Better yet, cook with the bone in...the meat will be more flavorful.
• Bake or roast your chicken with the skin on for more flavor.
• When whole chickens go on sale buy several. Clean, throw an onion, some celery, a garlic clove, and a carrot in the cavity and bake until done. You can carve them and use as sliced meat or cut in chunks for use in casseroles and souple. Don't forget to put the carcasses in the soup pot for rich broth.
• Remember foods like chicken a la king? It is a great way to stretch that meat to feed many people. Serve it over hot, homemade biscuits for a cozy meal or make puff pastry shells for poulet a la reine. No puff pastry? Buy day old croissants that have been marked down. It won't matter if they are a little stale.
• Adding things like caramelized onion to a recipe will change the flavor and make it special. 

• 8 chicken thighs, boned and skinned 
• Flour for dredging
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1 tsp crushed oregeno 
• Olive oil for frying
• 1 onion, peeled and chopped
• 1/4 lb mushrooms, optional 
• 3 garlic cloves, crushed
• 3/4 cup sweet Marsala

1. Mix the flour, salt, and pepper. Dredge the chicken in it.
2. Heat the olive oil in a pan and add the onions and garlic. Saute until tender and transparent. Remove the vegetables to a plate.
3. Add a little more olive oil if needed and brown the chicken in the pan until it is golden on all sides. Add the mushrooms and saute lightly a few minutes. Remove from pan and set aside. 
4. Add the marsala to the hot pan. Simmer a few minutes to reduce and then add the ingredients back in. SImmer for 10 to 15 minutes, covered, until chicken is done.

Serve with fettucine that has a garlic butter mixed into it. 

Serves 6 - 8

* 1 tablespoons olive oil * 1 cup chopped onion * 1/2 cup diced ham or bacon * 1/2 green bell pepper, coarsely chopped * 1 rib celery, diced * 2 cups long-grain rice * 1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste * 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper, or to taste * 2 cups chicken broth * 1 can whole tomatoes (or 1 cup fresh, peeled and chopped) * 2 cups cooked cubed chicken * salt and pepper, to taste * 2 tablespoons minced parsley

Preparation: In a large deep skillet or Dutch oven, heat the olive oil; add the ham or bacon. Sauté until meat is lightly browned. Add the chopped onion, green pepper, and celery. Sauté until the onion is tender. Add the rice and sauté, stirring, until lightly browned. Add the 1/2 teaspoon of salt and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper. Add the 2 cups chicken broth and tomatoes to the skillet. Cover and simmer 25 minutes, or until the rice is tender and liquid absorbed. Stir the cooked chicken into the rice; heat through, about 2 to 3 minutes. Taste and add salt and pepper, if needed. Turn onto a platter; sprinkle with minced parsley, if desired. Serves 6.

There are many other frugal chicken recipes.  In fact, many of your recipes can be changed to be more frugal.  In casseroles you can cut back a little on the amount of meat, and use more inexpensive parts.

For other frugal chicken recipes check my food blog, Baking Delights as well as my other hubs.