Can Rotisserie Chicken Ever Be A Bargain?

You bet it can!  I bought one $6.99 for the breast meat to make sandwiches to eat on the ferry from New London to Orient Point.  Of course, two people would have never been able to buy a (decent) lunch for $6 .99.  I ate one lunch from the chicken (wings) before we left.  Two yummy sandwiches on whole grain bread with butter, lettuce and tomato.  Chips from the bag at home, a clementine and two slices of orange yogurt bread.  Water to drink  The best lunch!  3 meals so far. . . .


I had removed the remainder of the chicken from the bones and froze it.  After we returned, I thawed the chicken for. . .  ta da!!  Enchiladas verdes.  The supermarket had tomatillos!  They almost never, here in this part of New England, have tomatillos.  Made them from scratch, a labor of love, but all I had to buy was the tomatillos and a couple small (all they had) jalapenos.  Everything else was on hand, even the corn tortillas.  The recipe made two casseroles.  4 servings.  I ate another lunch from the thawed legs.   There were two enchiladas left and we ate them for lunch yesterday.  Add 'em up.  10 servings of good quality protein for $6.99.  How frugal is that?  And every meal yummy.  You can make some of the enchiladas just with the cheese for a vegetarian  child or guest.


Both the Globe and the Times have been emphasizing vegetarian selections in their food sections, but nothing sounds that great.  Maybe because I am not a huge fan of unrelieved starch.  Potato curry?  Not so intriguing.  Give me chicken, shrimp or even fish curry.  Curried chick peas are good.   I would eat curried potatoes as a side dish. 


Some days the supermarket has rotisserie chickens on sale for 5  bucks.  That would be 50 cents per serving.  Yowza! 

Here is a recipe similar to the one I used:  Food and Wine Mag Enchiladas Verdes  


We served them with avocado salad and refried beans (on sale for $1.00,) and extra cheese, sour cream, chopped tomatoes, scallions and cilantro on the side.  I had some Farmer's cheese in the freezer which I crumbled over the casserole.  Cheddar always works.  Did I mention the tomatoes and avocados were on sale?  Shop smart, shop well.  Experiment! 


Bon Appetit! 

Tasty Vegetarian

Chances are, meat, produce and dairy are your biggest expenditures at the grocery store. By cooking vegetarian once or twice a week, you can cut out the meat expense. Last week, mozzarella and cheddar (already grated, yet) were on sale, as was broccoli and eggplant.

This week, we're having Eggplant Parmegiana and Cheddar-Broccoli soup. Both entrees are heary fare that only needs a salad and perhaps a soupcon of dessert to make a complete meal. The cheese is full of calcium and also has protein, and the soup uses milk as well.

Some homemade French bread would be fantastic. The cool fall days and nights call for something hearty, but hearty doesn't have to always be meaty. I'm thinking chili weather will be here soon.

I'll give you my two fave chili recipes. Chili is economical, too, and you can make it so many ways. I like both beef and chicken. White chili rocks. I ate it for the first time in Wisconsin and it was such a revelation.

It is true. Travel is broadening. With the sour cream and cheese, that statement is true in multiple ways.

The Cheeseparer