How To Save Money using Chicken Thighs (Meal Prepping Ideas)
Shopping Supermarket’s Weekly Deals
Eating healthy doesn’t have to put us in a financial bind. Take some time looking through your local supermarket’s ads. First, check out what meat is on sale for the week. Make meals based on what’s on sale. The trick is, to look for meat that will make many different meals. I like using different cuts of chicken for meal prepping. I can usually, get chicken on sale and there are tons of options for dinners and lunches. Bone-in chicken thighs or boneless, skinless thighs are often not too expensive. If found on sale, I can get a large tray of either of these for $5 or less. That makes feeding your family pretty cheap!
Easy & Affordable Meal Prep for Three Delicious Dinners
Meal Plan & Menu
Do you have a meal plan & menu for each week? If you have a meal plan and a shopping list for meals, you will go to the store with a purpose. Therefore, knowing you have ALL meals covered, you won’t need to “guess” buy anything. “Guess” buying is what I call wondering around the isles looking for a meal idea and then over spending on what catches your eye. Let me confess, I know about this because I do this all too often and with diet restrictions, prepared food and snacks can really wreck a food budget!!
Believe me, when it comes to food, I think I can buy it based on the idea that we are going to eat it. Somehow this makes me feel justified in wrecking my food budget. My New Year’s resolution was making sure I always have a list and sticking to it. I know what you are thinking. This is too hard and you don’t have time. Am I right?? Well, I will tell you a little secret. Making meals like your Grandma cooked are easier and cheaper than you think. It just takes a little planning and a couple hours out of your day.
The picture below shows the bone-in chicken thighs that I bought for $4.95. Yes, the whole tray was under $5, using my store card! That is pretty affordable to feed your whole family! I am going to walk you through how to prepare these thighs in the Instant Pot and take the meat off the bone. This will get you prepared to make THREE healthy and delicious dinners: Chicken & Dumplings, Chicken, broccoli & Rice Casserole, and Chicken, Spinach & Onion Stir Fry with Gluten Free noodles.
Preparing Chicken Thighs
Bone-In Chicken Thighs in the Instant Pot
Equipment
- Instant Pot
Ingredients
- 1 Tray Bone-in Chicken Thighs (about 8-9 Thighs)
- 2 1/2 Tbsp oil (I use bacon grease for flavor or coconut oil)
- 1 onion (chop in large chunks) (Size doesn't matter on pieces, this is just for flavoring the meat)
- 1/2 green pepper (chop in large chunks) (just for flavor)
- 1 spear celery (chopped in two big pieces) (just for flavoring the meat)
- 1 32 oz. Box Chicken Broth
- 1 cup water
- 1 1/2 tsp Salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 1 tsp Garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp Italian seasoning
Extra Ingredients to prep now, for later meals:
- 3 small onions (diced fine) (one onion for chicken casserole, one for chicken stir fry, and one for dumplings)
- 1 carrot (diced very fine) (this is for the dumplings)
- 1 1/2 cups steamed broccoli (diced small) (My family likes finely diced pieces in this casserole) Cut bigger if you prefer larger chunks.
- 2 Cups Quick cooking rice (cooked) (make sure and add 2 Tbsp of butter & sprinkle salt on the cooked rice; stir well.)
Instructions
- In a small bowl, mix all seasonings together and set aside. Next, spread the seasonings on both sides of the chicken thighs. Make sure the seasonings are fully covering every inch of the thighs. Turn on your Instant Pot to the Saute setting. Put your bacon grease or whatever oil you choose, into the pot. Let this heat up and start placing your thighs in to sear on both sides. This is not to cook them, just lock in flavor. You will need to have a plate or cookie sheet to lay these on after they get done searing. (I have the larger Instant Pot, so I could get about 4 thighs at a time.) You will want to pay close attention so they don't burn. If you notice the thighs are sticking, add a splash of chicken broth and take a spoon to scrape all the stuff off the bottom. Sometimes, I have to add a bit more oil as well, to help with sticking. Now, continue and finish searing the rest.
- When all thighs have been seared on each side, make sure all those little crumbs on the bottom of the pot are scrapped off and not stuck. (This prevents burning and releases all the flavor to the broth.) Now, pour the rest of the broth and water into the pot and place ALL thighs into the broth. I try and make sure most all of the thighs are covered in the broth.
- Place the lid on and High Pressure the thighs for about 40-45 minutes. When the timer goes off, do a quick release of steam and check to see if the meat can be easily taken off the bone. If it is still slightly tough, return the lid and high pressure another 3-5 min. (Remember, we are going to use this meat for meal prepping and want it tender enough to easily take off the bone.) When the meat is done, take it out to cool. Turn off the Instant Pot.
How to reserve the broth for Chicken and Dumplings
- You will want something, like a colander, and place it over a large bowl or pot. All the green pepper, celery, and onion need to be separated and discarded from the Chicken Broth/Stock. Pour the liquid into the colander to catch all the vegetable pieces. Let the broth cool and store in refrigerator until time to make the Chicken and Dumplings. Having the chicken and broth all done will make Dinner quick and easy!
Taking the Chicken off the bone and storing for your next 3 dinners
- For this, you will need two medium size bowls. One for the chunked chicken and one for the scraps of bones & fat. Once the thighs have cooled off a bit, start separating the fat from the chicken and place in the scrap bowl. Next, take a fork (I find using my fingers works best) and start taking all the Chicken off the bone. I chunk up the meat as I go and place in my bowl. (You will want bite sized chunks of chicken for these 3 recipes.)
- When finished, get 2 gallon plastic bags, 1 Quart size bag, and 1 sandwich bag ; label them: Bags #1 (quart bag & sandwich bag) will be Chicken & dumplings w/2 Cups Chicken in the quart bag & diced onion & carrot in the sandwich bag. Bag #2 will be Chicken, onion and spinach stir fry with 1 1/4 cups chicken & one diced onion. Bag #3 will be Chicken, broccoli, and rice casserole with about 1 1/2-2 cups chicken (or whatever chicken is left), one diced onion, 2 cups cooked rice, and chopped broccoli. Place all bags or containers in the refrigerator for your next 3 easy dinners.
Notes
