Many budget-friendly recipes contain chicken. The following five recipes are delicious, easy to make, and don't contain any expensive or difficult to find ingredients.
Creamy Baked Chicken with Mushroom Gravy
This recipe uses a whole chicken, which is chicken in its most affordable form. To maximize savings, purchase a whole fryer and cut it into pieces yourself. Serve with rice.
Ingredients
One whole 3 to 4 pound fryer, cut into parts
Salt and pepper
1 stick butter or margarine, melted
1/4 cup flour
2 tablespoons oil
1 onion, sliced
1/4 pound mushrooms, quartered
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can evaporated milk
1 cup cheddar cheese, grated
Method
Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
Season chicken pieces with salt and pepper.
Pour melted butter into a 9x13 inch baking pan.
Dredge chicken pieces in flour and tap to remove excess.
Place chicken skin-side down into baking pan.
Bake for 30 minutes.
Turn chicken skin side up and bake for an additional 20 minutes.
While chicken is cooking, heat oil over medium-high heat in a sauté pan until it shimmers.
Add mushrooms and onions and cook until soft, about three to four minutes.
In a bowl, stir together mushroom soup, evaporated milk, and cheese until combined.
Remove chicken from oven and reduce heat to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.
Spread mushroom and onion mixture over chicken.
Pour soup mixture over the top of mushrooms and onions.
Cover pan with foil and return to the oven.
Bake until the chicken is done, about 20 to 30 minutes.
Serve with hot rice.
Maple Soy Glazed Drumsticks
Drumsticks are very affordable, and you probably have the rest of the ingredients available in your kitchen.
Ingredients
12 drumsticks
Salt and pepper
1/2 cup maple syrup
3 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons ketchup
1 teaspoon garlic powder
Instructions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Season drumsticks with salt and pepper and place in a 9x13 inch baking dish.
Whisk together syrup, soy sauce, ketchup, and garlic powder.
Spread sauce evenly over chicken.
Bake, uncovered, until chicken is cooked through, about 40 to 60 minutes.
Lemon-Garlic Chicken Soup
Soup is affordable because it can stretch your ingredients. It also uses a whole fryer chicken, which is one of the most inexpensive ways to buy chicken.
Ingredients
3 tablespoons oil
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
2 celery stalks, peeled and chopped
1 onion, chopped
1 head garlic, separated into cloves, peeled, and minced
4 cups salt-free chicken broth
4 cups water
Juice of 3 lemons
1 tablespoon dried thyme
One 3 to 4 pound roasting chicken, whole
1 bay leaf
8 ounces egg noodles
Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
Heat oil in a large pot over medium-high heat until it shimmers.
Add carrots, celery, and onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until it softens and browns slightly, about five minutes.
Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
Add chicken broth, water, and lemon juice, using a wooden spoon to scrape any browned bits off the bottom of the pan.
Add thyme, whole chicken, and bay leaf.
Bring to a boil, and then reduce to a simmer.
Cover the pot and simmer for 2 hours, until chicken is fully cooked and vegetables are soft.
Very carefully remove chicken from the pot and set aside.
Return broth to a boil.
Stir in egg noodles and cook for the amount of time indicated on the egg noodle package - typically 8 to 12 minutes.
While noodles cook, remove skin from chicken and discard. Remove the chicken meat from the bones.
When noodles are done, add chicken back to the broth.
Taste and season with salt and pepper.
Serve immediately.
Arroz con Pollo
Translated to "chicken with rice," Arroz con Pollo is a dish that stretches your dollar with inexpensive, easy to find ingredients.
Ingredients
2 tablespoons oil
1/2 cup green pepper, chopped
1/2 cup onion, chopped
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 cup salsa or picante sauce
1 cup tomato sauce
1 1/2 cups instant rice, uncooked
1 three to four pound roaster chicken, cut into pieces
Salt and black pepper to taste
1 cup grated jack cheese
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Grease a 9x13 inch baking pan.
In a large sauté pan, heat oil over medium-high heat until it shimmers. Add green peppers and onions and cook until softened, about four minutes.
Stir in garlic powder, salsa, and tomato sauce. Remove from heat and set aside.
Spread uncooked rice along the bottom of the pan.
Season chicken pieces with salt and pepper and arrange over rice in a single layer.
Pour onion and pepper mixture over chicken pieces.
Cover and bake until chicken is cooked, about 50 minutes to an hour.
Uncover and sprinkle with cheese.
Bake until cheese melts, about five more minutes.
Chicken and Lentils
Lentils are extremely affordable, as are all of the other ingredients in this dish.
Ingredients
1 tablespoon oil
2 pounds of bone-in, skin-on chicken pieces
Salt and pepper
1 onion, minced
1 carrot, peeled and minced
1 stalk celery, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
3/4 cup dried lentils
1 3/4 cups chicken broth
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 10-ounce can tomato sauce
1 teaspoon dried rosemary
Instructions
Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat until it shimmers.
Season chicken with salt and pepper.
Cook in hot oil until juices run clear, about six minutes per side.
Remove chicken from pan and set aside on a platter.
Add onion, carrot, and celery to oil and cook until it softens and begins to brown, about five minutes.
Add garlic and cook until it is fragrant, about 30 seconds.
Stir in lentils and chicken broth.
Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes.
Return chicken to skillet, adding any juices that have collected on the platter.
Cook uncovered for 20 minutes, adding water to moisten mixture if necessary.
Stir in salt, tomato sauce and rosemary. Continue to cook, uncovered, until lentils soften, about 10 more minutes.
Affordable Recipes for Your Family
With the above recipes, you can feed your family delicious and affordable chicken meals.
