Last week, I posted this recipe, and like so many casserole-type dishes, it calls for the ubiquitous “cooked chicken.” Over the years, I’ve learned that “cooked chicken” can either be flavorful and tender, or a dried out, tasteless mess depending on how you prepare it. I used to cut far too many corners when cooking chicken, because I figured, if it was casserole-bound anyway, nobody could really tell the difference as to how I cooked it, right?

Um…wrong. Unfortunately for me, you really can tell the difference, and how your chicken is cooked may be what takes your dish from “Meh…” to “Yum!” I finally admitted to myself that sometimes, you only get out what you put in, and gave my chicken-cooking process an overhaul. Here’s how I do it:

First, the smarter, economical, and more flavorful way to do this would be to use a whole chicken. However, there’s only so much extra effort I am willing to expend in life, and picking apart a cooked chicken carcass is not high on my fun list. Instead, I use four or five frozen chicken breasts, depending on their size, and the proportions of the remaining ingredients are based on that amount of chicken. If you were to use a whole chicken, double the remaining ingredients to accommodate for the size and water you’ll need.

Here’s the players:

I use two or three stalks of celery, one medium/large yellow onion, one lemon, several sprigs of fresh thyme (or a teaspoon of the dried stuff), peppercorns, kosher salt, and of course, the chicken. I start by tossing the chicken in a large pot:

Then I chop the celery into thirds:

Peel and quarter the onion:

And slice the lemon:

I toss all of that into the pot with the chicken, and then I add the thyme, about one or two tablespoons of kosher salt, and a heaping tablespoon of the peppercorns:

That’s some accurate measuring, right there. Next, I fill the pot with water until the chicken is covered by about an inch or two of water:

Yep, that four whole minutes of prep time was arduous, now wasn’t it? Finally, I slap on the lid and bring the chicken to a boil over high heat. As soon as it starts to boil, I reduce the heat to medium and let it simmer at a low boil for about 30 to 45 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through. When the chicken is done, I remove it from the pot and chop/shred it to my desired size:

Once my chicken is dealt with, I strain the cooking liquid though a fine mesh strainer, and TA-DA:

Homemade chicken stock! This will keep in the refrigerator for a day or two, and in this case, I used it (instead of water) to cook the noodles for my King Ranch Mac and Cheese.

Now, I’m sure a Food Network star would throw even more crap in the pot for flavor, but budget-wise, this method is a compromise between my desire for all things tasty and my depressingly meager wallet. Since all these ingredients are items I usually keep on hand anyway, I’m also never out too much effort either. If I happen to have fresh parsley, I also toss it in, but I wouldn’t go buying it just for this.

So, there ya have it. Next time your casserole, pizza, or other dish calls for “cooked chicken,” give this method a try and see if it helps. If you already knew this, more power to you, sister. We all know my learning curve is longer than the average bear’s.

I’ve been trying to stretch my food budget, and needless to say, it’s a challenge. Have you seen the price of beef lately?!? I think we all agree that, when it comes to groceries, we are paying more but getting less. Historically, I’ve turned to casseroles to stretch my proteins into more portions, but my picky eaters usually eye them with suspicion. They feel casseroles are a conspiracy to get more vegetables into them. They are right. Kind of hard pick your dinner apart when it’s all mixed together, now isn’t it? Mwa-ha-ha-ha!

Though I like chicken pot pie, my husband has been fairly ambivalent; he’ll eat it, but don’t expect him to do cartwheels about it. In an effort to entice him, I found a recipe for a Curry Chicken Pot Pie (which sounded right up his alley), but it didn’t turn out well at all. After experimenting and tinkering, I finally produced a chicken pot pie that my husband actually loved. The curry gives it a wonderful depth of flavor, and just a hint of spice. The Heathens ate it too, and spared me the Oscar-worthy dinner theatrics, so I’ll call that a victory.

Here’s how I did it:

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Now, if I could just figure out how to get him to eat squash, I may be in line for the Nobel Prize.

My husband loves me…like big time. He made me a “big girl” milkshake this weekend, and it was to die for. I drank mine and record time, then gave him the puppy-dog eyes until he surrendered his too. I will probably need to run 567 miles to compensate, but let me tell ya, this drink will cure any bad day, guaranteed.