Chicken Recipes - Easy to Cook

Chicken has a widespread appeal and numerous advantages for meals. It is more economical and readily available than other meats. Most people like poultry and will eat it even when they won’t eat beef or pork.

The ways to prepare chicken are almost endless. Chicken has good nutritional value as it is lower in saturated fat, therefore lower in cholesterol; it is a great source of protein and contains no carbohydrates.

There some guidelines you must follow for safety with chicken. Check the package for the USDA Grade A rating. Look for securely wrapped packages and check the “sell-by” date stamp. Inspect the chicken skin as it should be creamy white to deep yellow.

The meat should never look gray or pasty. Smell it to make sure there is no bad odor. You might smell a strong, unpleasant odor when you first open the pack of chicken at home; leave it on the counter for a few minutes, and it might dissipate. Oxidation can take place inside the package which is harmless. If the smell goes away quickly then there is no need to be concerned.

Raw chicken can harbor bacteria (salmonella), so it is essential that you buy fresh chicken, freeze it in an airtight package if you are not going to use it within two days. If you do freeze the chicken remove the giblets and cut off excess fat. The safest way to thaw chicken is in the refrigerator which takes about 24 hours. Thawing chicken on the counter promotes bacteria growth. Chicken should be thoroughly cooked before eating.

The most economical way to buy chicken is whole. It is very simple to cut one up as shown in the video below. If you buy several at a time you can wrap them tightly to freeze separating white and dark meat or in whatever manner you choose.

Chicken Fajitas with salsa is one of my favorite dishes and it has several nourishing vegetables. It is also low calorie.

There is absolutely a multitude of ways to use chicken to make delicious meals, sandwiches and snacks. Chicken salad is great for sandwiches and to use with salads. There are numerous recipes for it and you can add apple chunks or grapes.

The salad pictured is nestled in two Wonton wrappers for an elegant look and great taste. There are only 103 calories in that dish. The salad below is your basic delicious salad with the chicken cut into chunks.

Grilling chicken is another low-calorie way to serve chicken. There are some delicious marinades for chicken if you like them. Stubb’s Chicken Marinade is one of our favorites. Drain the marinade off before placing chicken on the grill. Grill chicken 6” to 8” from the heat for 15 minutes or more. Turn over and grill for another 15 minutes. Chicken is best if it cooked a little longer and slower than other types of meat.

If you want to use barbecue sauce on your chicken one little trick I learned was to mix a little vinegar with water, and use a small pastry brush to baste the chicken periodically.

As barbecue sauce tends to blacken easily you put it on toward the end of the cooking and it is delicious. The vinegar basting makes the barbecue flavor all that much better. Another good way to grill chicken is to use a rotisserie over the grill using whole chickens. The stores are stocked with barbecue sauces and many people prefer to make their own and can find recipes all over the Internet.

Chicken soup is extremely popular, and there are dozens of recipes. You can use noodles, rice, vegetables and use your imagination. The picture of the chicken made with butternut squash is delicious for something a bit different.

Chicken soup is still considered an excellent food to eat for a cold or flu and medical study results were published in 2000, by Dr. Stephen Rennard

Fried Chicken is always going to be the favorite way of eating chicken for many people and hot wings are loved by many people. Remember the bulk of the calories in fried chicken are in the skin.

Wings can be deep-fried, then put in a large bowl while steaming hot. Add your favorite sauce for a few minutes to absorb the flavor. My husband likes making wings this way and makes his own special sauce, then shakes that bowl around with the lid on it.

Then, onto the platter and they are finger-licking good. You can also cook excellent wings on your grill.

This article did not begin to cover the various ways you can cook chicken. It was meant to teach the safest way to buy and store your chicken. There are thousands of recipes on the internet and I didn't even begin to cover the way chicken is cooked in other countries.