Mmmmn Chicken Wow-Wow!

My word for today Repourpose - I like to reuse things whenever possible, for example I use empty paper towel rolls to house my cooking tongs, Sushi mat and yet another to keep my wooden skewers safe.

I should apologize, hope I didn’t conjure up visions of re-used restaurant bread with that last statement..lol

Moving on to more palatable offerings….

After tooling around Costco for 2 hours on Sunday night, I was way too tired to prepare the sides to go with the savory smelling, juicy roasted chicken that had been riding in my basket, so (I ate a Hot Dog @ Costco’s food court, very affordable at $1.50 and it comes with a drink) when I got home I made my mom a chicken breast sandwich and I shoved Mr. Chicken in the fridge......and forgot about it, until after I had already prepared dinner on Tuesday evening!

So now I have a nearly whole roasted bird, I don’t want to freeze it and I know I am not about to throw it out, then Eureka it occurs to me - With 5 people in the house there is always someone hungry when no one else is. So I decided to whip up some chicken salad and I used some ingredients I scored at the Dollar Store so here you go!

By the way you don’t need an entire chicken this recipe can be easily prepared using whatever pieces of chicken you have my only requirement please remove the skin especially if your chicken is fried and not baked, grilled or broiled.

I call it The Manor’s Chicken Salad – Threadgill Manor that is!

Almost whole Chicken or parts, skin removed and once meat is removed from bones chopped into large chunks.

3 Baby Dill Pickles - chopped in small chunks.

½ small Onion finely chopped

½ Cup Mayo - I prefer best foods - Miracle Whip is wayyyyy tooo sweeet!

½ teaspoon Celery Salt.

McCormick Smokehouse flavored Pepper to taste I used about ¼ teaspoon.

½ Tablespoon Poultry Seasoning.

To assemble the salad you will need a large bowl, add the chicken, pickles, onion, mayo, celery salt and poultry seasoning. With a large spoon GENTLY stir or in cooking terms FOLD the ingredients together I say gently so you don’t break up the chucks of chicken.

Taste and add more pepper if you desire.

Spoon onto toasted bread or serve on crackers, if you want to really be a Rockstar use your ice crème scoop and add a mound to some leafy salad greens!

Let’s see the cost breakdown:

Chicken - $4.99
Dills - $1.00
Celery Salt $1.00
Smokehouse Pepper $1.89
Poultry Seasoning - $1.00
Yellow Onion - $.25

Total – $10.13

Provided you already have bread and Mayonnaise you are only spending $1.01 per serving or less if you are truly using chicken left over from another meal!

I hope you will subscribe or at least check back weekly for a new recipe at Dollar Store Dining!

Sonia

I'm keepin' it short and sweet!

I must confess I have a little secret….



When I am stressed I bake and when really in the mood for something sweet I choose Cherry Pie! It’s quick and easy and I can have it hot out of the oven in about 20 mins. Not to mention this ones a cheapie!




Cost: Pie Crust - $2.00
Cherry Filling - $3.00

Total Cost - $5.00, you get about 6 decent sized servings so that’s only $.83 cents per serving!



Currently at the Dollar Tree Store they have a wonderful Cherry Pie Filling, its heavy on the gel base and low on the cherries so to make an average sized pie you will need at least 3 boxes. The box covers vary so sorry no picture. It requires no additional sugar so all you need is a crust and presto chango you have pie.



Ingredients: 3 Boxes of Cherry Pie Filling - Drained, sauce reserved



1 packaged of prepared pie shells or a roll out crust product - I prefer Pillsbury Roll Out $2.00 most places or you can make your own….I make a flaky crust but it’s an acquired skill so I won’t even lie to you it’s easier to buy the ready made stuff.



8 x 8 square glass baking dish - buttered slightly



2 teaspoons Sugar



To begin either unwrap or unroll your room temperature crust and place it in the bottom of the buttered dish.



Spoon the drained cherries into the uncooked shell and fill the shell with the desired amount of gel - me I like my pie a bit drier so I only use 1 cup.



Place the second crust on top, press the crust down over the mixture and fold the sides down making a slightly raised border for your dish, prick your crust with a sharp knife in whatever pattern you like, I chose a simple star for mine. Sprinkle the sugar on top to for a sweet sparkly treat.


Your pie should look like a crusted envelope. Place in a cold oven - This is very very important if you preheat the oven your dish will break - cold in to hot is never a good thing. Place pie in oven at 350’ bake for 20 mins or until crust is nice and brown - timing really does depend on your oven.



This is also a winner for a quick fix desert when company drifts by your palace. Simply add some good French Vanilla Ice Crème and Viola!





I hope you will subscribe or at least check back weekly for a new recipe at Dollar Store Dining!