Chicken Braid Made With Leftovers

October 29, 2011 · by · Leave a Comment

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What can you do with one or two chicken leftover chicken breasts or one cup of taco meat? Do what I do and make a chicken braid. Think of it as a hot stromboli stuffed with your favorite goodies like protein, cheese, vegetables and seasonings. It can be tailored to your family’s likes and doubled if you have the extra time. I take the extra braid/stromboli and slice it into single servings for future lunches or quick thaw meals.

If you’re raising your eyebrow, take a look at my favorite 5-minute dough mixed in a plastic shoe box without punching, waiting and kneading. Think of this dough as your canvas for your art work. Okay, you’re not artsy? Well neither am I. Think of it as your play dough (my three year-old does when he knows I’m mixing a batch). You can create any kind of dish with this dough from pizza to braids, sandwich bread, cinnamon rolls and more. I’ve experimented a long while with this versatile dough. Visit my Artisan Dough 101 post to read more about the different items I’ve made. It’s the most frugal way to make healthy bread and it keeps in the refrigerator up to a week!

Visit my chicken braid post to see a tutorial of cutting and crossing the strips (don’t be intimidated~the strips don’t have to be equal in size or braided. They just criss-cross and turn out pretty). My original recipe used brioche dough with butter, but the one above is a white whole wheat canola oil dough recipe.

There are many ideas that run though my head every time I make one of these. Here are some of them:

  • taco braid: leftover taco meat and cheese, serve with lettuce, salsa, sour cream
  • Italian chicken braid: leftover chicken, mozzarella cheese and broccoli
  • Meatball stroboli: leftover meatballs, sauce and mozzarella
  • Pepperoni stromboli: Pepperoni, mushrooms, black olives, mozzarella, sauce
  • Ham and swiss braid: Ham, swiss, mustard poppy seed

It’s easy to have a cup or two of leftover ham and turkey during the holidays and this is a fantastic way to use in a creative, tasty way. Freeze your meat in one or two cup portions with a little broth. Thaw the night before and make a braid. Or use the cold water thawing method if you’re in a pinch.

It’s like a homemade hot pocket…

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What are your braid ideas? This is linked to holiday feast link up at $5 dollar dinners

Filed Under: Burgers + Sandwiches + Pizza + Wraps · Tagged: , , , ,

Crock pot Italian Beef Sandwiches

February 8, 2011 · by · Leave a Comment

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Do you like sandwiches? If the answer is yes, try this hot sandwich. It’s made with roast cooked in your crock pot all day. You can buy a bottom round or chuck roast. The bottom round is leaner with less fat. I bought a bottom round specifically for the sandwich and not the usual pot roast with vegetables. However, I recommend enjoying a pot roast first if you’re family likes it and then making these tasty sandwiches with the leftovers. You can freeze your pot roast leftovers and then thaw the shredded meat later to make these.

You begin with the seasonings. I use minced onion, garlic powder, salt and pepper and Italian seasoning. Click on the printable recipe at the end of the post for the exact measurements. I drizzle the top with olive oil.

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Cook on high for 8 hours. I went ahead and shredded the meat with two forks once it had cooked about 6 hours so it didn’t dry out.

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It will look like this once it’s shredded, unless you keep it in tact to eat as pot roast first. Then shred it later and cool it completely before you bag it for the freezer.  It looks like we can have this meal 2 additional times this month or I can vary it up by adding BBQ sauce, top it with slaw or serve it in a wrap.

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Do you have any additional ideas for shredded beef? We’d love to hear them.

Printable recipe for Italian Beef Sandwiches

This recipe is linked to Tasty Tuesday , What’s on Your plate? and It’s a Keeper

Filed Under: Beef · Tagged: , , , , , , , ,

Asian Honey Chicken Marinade

September 27, 2010 · by · 2 Comments

 

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Does sesame oil, honey, soy sauce, garlic and ginger sound good? If you’re mouth is already drooling, try mixing this easy freezer marinade before you freeze your chicken cutlets and you’ll thank yourself while you’re grilling.

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This is a recipe we have made in our Cook and play groups before and it was a big hit. I like to buy several family size pkgs of chicken and marinate it before it is frozen.

I’ll take you through the steps and show you how easy and versatile and delicious this chicken is to make.

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I cut the chicken into large 2″ chunks for stir-fry or kabab if I decide to grill it with chunks of squash, onions or zuchinni. yum.

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A glass measuring cup or large coffee cup will assist in holding the bag upright while you fill it with marinade. Lay it flat to carefully squeeze out air without squeezing out the marinade.

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I’ve labeled and dated my chicken (in case I make more at a later date I want to be sure to use this first). You can see these two flat bags take up less space in my freezer than the two large trays earlier plus it’s ready to grill or pan fry without the prep work. Enjoy the recipe!

Asian Honey Sesame Chicken

Ingredients:

2 ½ pounds chicken pieces

½  c. soy sauce

2 T. canola or vegetable oil

2 T. sesame oil

3 T. honey

Kitchen Tip: spray measuring spoon with cooking spray and honey will easily slide out

1 T. sesame seeds

2 garlic cloves, minced

¼  tsp. ginger

Directions:

Rinse chicken and pat dry.  Cut into 2-3 inch chicken squares and divide between two freezer bags.  Combine all the marinade ingredients and mix well to distribute honey.  Divide marinade between two bags of chicken.  Squeeze air out and seal.

Suggestions:

Serve on a bed of hot cooked brown rice.

Thread the cubes on skewers for Asian Kebabs.

Slice into smaller strips prior to marinating for stir-fry; add veges and cooked brown rice.

Thawing Tip:

Place bag in a plastic shoe box to catch the condensation while thawing in the fridge. Wash box after use to prevent cross contamination.

Printable Asian Honey Sesame Marinade recipe

Filed Under: Poultry and Pork · Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Pinterest Image Pin Courtesy of Shane Jones