My Life the Food Blog

Meet my newest deliciousness.  A chicken tender, cut in half and pounded flat, coated in a mixture of flour, panko, and Special K Multigrain Oats and Honey Flakes.  This particular beauty of a chicken was fried in a sundried tomato olive oil that I got from Meijer (shoutout to my favorite store!).  I didn't even use butter, and my roommate would vouch that that in and of itself is a rarity :).  It is on a delightful bagel thin, whole wheat flavor, with olive oil mayo and spinach leaves on top.  This is without a doubt my new favorite chicken sandwhich. 

Let me reiterate something.  This chicken samich is made entirely of ONE chicken tender.  Tender.  Not breast.  Which is why my roommate and I have decided I am the master of meats.  I have made big bowls of mexi rice with a fourth of a pound of ground beef or less in them that you wouldn't know that's all that's in there. 

I always separate my ground beef into 1/4 pound sections, and most times flatten it out before freezing it.  This allows it to thaw out faster, which is really nice since I almost always forget to set it out of the freezer before I leave.  There is no dish that I make that I would use a whole pound for, and I tend to get 2-3 meals out of most big things I make (like mexi rice) or I split the browned beef between two meals in some cases (like noodles and ground beef one night, and seasoning it for mexi rice the next).

I am SO convinced that a lot of people just don't really realize how far a pound of ground beef can really go, and I attribute this mostly to hamburger helper.  You always hear those commercials touting that you need 1 lb of ground beef.  I happen to think that a few cups of pasta, a 1/2 (if it's a family of 4 since most of my meals easily could feed 2), and some block cheese or (if you must) velveeta could get the exact same results and maybe even better ones.  There is absolutely no hamberger helper meal I would want over my cheeseburger pasta with fresh shredded colby jack and a sprinkle of bacon bits (the real hormel ones not those creepy crunchy fakes, Bac-O Yuck-O).

I am fairly certain that cheese powder is NOT better for you than cheese.  Just saying.

Now, off the hamburger-helper-hating soapbox again, back to my dinner.  I ate this delightful chicken samich with mashed sweet potatoes (butter, cinnamon/sugar, a bit of milk, and brown sugar) and my mom's home canned applesauce.  It was really fantastic. 

I love being able to cook.  I have thoroughly enjoyed getting the opportunity to learn to cook and develop my own style and creative ideas. 

So, next time you have a chicken breast or tender or beef, split it up, see how it goes.  Thin chicken samiches still give you all the flavor, and a breast sliced thin will make that original single chicken breast turn into two. 

This is what I have to take away from cooking this year:

• Waste not, want not.  Plan meals and get creative.  There is no reason things should go to waste when we have freezers, an online mecca of recipes, and countless appliances to cook with.
• Cutting back on usage cuts back on spending.  If you can stretch your beef or chicken twice as far, you buy it half as often.

Maybe school really can teach you life lessons.  Maybe I will get the hang of this sustainability thing after all :). Pin It Now!