So Much Chicken



Over a month ago I took over all grocery shopping for the family.  Maddie and I typically go grocery shopping on the weekend.  I've been comparing prices at various stores and looking through the weekly ads to find the best buys, particularly on ground beef and chicken breast.  I was elated to find this Aldi special in the newspaper:

I left after dinner on Wednesday and purchased 16 lbs of fresh chicken breasts for $27.  Score!

In case you're wondering why I purchased sixteen pounds of chicken, a fellow triplet mom posted a link on how to make and freeze large batches of shredded chicken.  She remarked on what a big time saver it was and that she only buys meat when she finds a great sale and stocks up.   

I placed one 5-lb pack of chicken breasts in the crock pot, along with 4 cups of water, 2 chicken bouillon cubes, a dash of garlic salt, pepper, and a tablespoon of Stevia.  I cooked it on high for five hours.

One of the tips I read was to shred the chicken in a stand mixer using a paddle attachment.  I was skeptical of how that would work, but the chicken was perfectly shredded in under a minute!

Five pounds made just over 12 cups of shredded chicken.

I portioned the chicken into freezer bags with three cups in each.  This was just the first batch:

I repeated the five hour process with the second batch of chicken breasts, and froze the third batch as individual breasts.  After all was said and done, $26 bought me 24 cups of shredded chicken (enough for 8 dinners + leftovers) and 6 large chicken breasts (enough for three meals). 

Some of my favorite dinners that feature shredded chicken breasts are chicken pot pie, chicken tetrazzini, enchiladas, quesadillas and taco soup.  Of course, I'm always happy to try new recipes if you have any favorites to share.