CULINARY TRICK TO SAVE YOU MONEY!

With the raising costs of food, especially pre-pared food, we are being challenged with making that hard earned dollar go as far as possible.

Couple that with the push to eat healthier and incorporate leaner meats into our diet, you now have a greater challenge on your hands.

I LOVE a challenge.

Chicken as most of us know, is a great lean choice of meat. But like anything else, pre-packaged and/or prepared chicken is quite expensive. I seldom see coupons on meat counter pre-packaged poultry so how can you save? Routinely supermarkets price whole un-cut chickens substantially lower than pre-packaged or cut up chickens.

"But I don't know how to cut up chicken!", you might say...well, I found this GREAT video on YouTube that clearly shows you that cutting chicken isn't hard at all!



So get out those sharp knives and save some money!!

Read up on these safety tips for chicken:

Wednesday, February 23, 2005 - Page updated at 12:00 AM

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Safety tips for chicken

• When buying a chicken, pay attention to the use-by date and look for packages that don't have an excess of red juices in the tray.

• Place the unwrapped package in a dish with sides to keep juices from contacting other food. Refrigerate immediately at 40 degrees or below for up to 3 days before using, as long as the time fits within the use-by date.

• The U.S. Department of Agriculture recommends disinfecting cutting surfaces that have been in contact with raw chicken with a solution of 1 teaspoon liquid bleach per quart of water. Pour the bleach solution over the surface and let it stand for about 5 minutes. Then rinse and wash with hot sudsy water. Pat dry with fresh paper towels.

• Cutting surfaces should be completely dry before storing.

• It's not safe to partially cook a chicken and finish it at a later time. If the chicken needs to be cooked in advance, reheat it in a low oven or microwave.

• Cool and refrigerate leftovers within 2 hours.

• Cooked chicken should be eaten within 4 days, or it can be frozen up to 3 months for best quality.

Source: U.S. Department of Agriculture
Copyright © 2005 The Seattle Times Company