What's been cooking - 4 April 2010

I've made a pact with myself to only buy organic or free range chicken (preferably organic). It's harder than you would think. Not many Hamilton supermarkets or butchers sell fresh organic chicken - I rang a lot of them. I found a whole frozen organic chicken at New World Hillcrest, but that cost $21.95 for size 12, which made me gulp when I put it in the trolley. I also found free range chicken drumsticks and breasts there, so bought two small packs of drums and one three-pack of breasts. They both look a lot smaller than hormone-pumped varieties and cost a lot more, but I'm sticking to my guns. 

I'm planning to use my chicken wisely. If I cook up a whole chicken, I'll pull it to pieces and fill small ziplock bags with parts of it to store in the freezer for later meals. I'll also cook the carcass up for chicken stock.

I separated the three-pack of chicken breasts into three ziplock bags and will use just one breast per meal - filling it out with sauce, lentils, chickpeas, vegetables, rice, etc. 

This week, for example, I made a chicken fettuccine with just one chicken breast. That meal was bulked out by the creamy sauce and fresh, homemade pasta and side vegetables.

If anyone knows where to get a bigger range of organic chicken in Hamilton, please let me know.

In any case, here's what we've been eating this week:
Sunday: Homemade pizza (four different kinds to share with friends). 

Monday: Topside roast (for shared Bible study dinner where we also ate beef stew, roast vegetables, whole snapper, green beans.)

Tuesday: Chicken fettuccine

Wednesday: Two-layered cheese toasty sandwiches. Chocolate cake for my friend Tash's birthday.

Thursday: Butter chicken on Basmati rice (made with fresh tomatoes from my garden and bulked out with red lentils).

Friday: Chicken stir-fry on Jasmine rice

Saturday: BBQ sausages, chicken kebabs, roast vegetables and salad