Please help me with my cooking routine

[crusader]

Hello! Well, I just posted in the welcome forums, and basically, i have no cooking knowledge, and I am tired of microwaving food, and buying fast food and as a student my time and skills is limited, but i would like to learn how to cook and enojy my own food!

I need to eat healthy, less fatty foods

So here's my scenario I'd liek help with please:

I go to costco and buy a package of skinless legs and thighs. so what do i do from here?

1. I assume that next step, i rinse the chicken.

2. Next, i keep a couple of peices in the fridge to cook over the next 2-3 days, and package the rest in plastic bags and freeze.

3. since i dont have much pots and pans, i'd like to simmer the chicken in my pot (i tried boiling it to get the fat out, but it ends up tasting tuff )

and finally

4. when i take out the frozen chicken, its usually 2-3 peices in a sandwich bag that i put in a bowl of water to thaw it out for a couple of hours.

p.s. i know i need a meat thermometer after reading on this site, are they at target, walmart and safeway?

thanks everyone!!

 

[jkath]

here are a couple of helpful tips, crusader:

As for the "bags", make sure you use the bags you use are designated as "freezer" bags, so you won't get freezer burn on the meat.

Rather than putting them in a bowl of water to thaw, you can take the chicken out of the freezer and thaw it in the fridge overnight. Much easier!

Yes, you can get meat thermometers nearly anywhere, and the places you suggested should all have one.

As for cooking, there are oodles of ways! Do you have a webber grill? (Seems a lot of students do) That's an easy and good way to cook your chicken. Also, boiling in a pot is good, as long as you don't overboil it. Then, you can use it for soup or in a casserole, which calls for pre-cooked chicken.

Best to only keep the raw chicken in your fridge for a couple of days, max. You can also put the raw chicken in pyrex bowl/dish (covered with saran wrap) with a nice marinade overnight before baking/grilling it.

I'll add more when I think of more. Best of luck!

 

[crusader]

thank you so much!! No webber grill sorry =( well i have chicken in sandwhich bags now so how do i tell if they have freezer burn? (i'll use them quickly over the next couple of days!!) thanks for the great tip!! so i will buy freezer bags and meat thermometer tonight!! so as for boiling it, how long for 3 peices until i start to check it with the thermometer? And how do I check it, do I just stick it in a couple of spread out places of the chicken? thanks again!!

so is boiling the quickest method?

 

[jkath]

You don't need a thermometer, unless you're doing a full chicken. Once you think the chicken may be done, go ahead and cut through the thickest part and see if it's white all the way through. If you purchase it with the bones, you can boil it till it literally falls off the bones.


check this chart out too: Chicken Cooking Times - Knowledge - Hormel Foods

 

[crusader]

wonderful! is there a recomended cooking time? usually after i boil it, it is too tuff and chewy and dry

 

[Andy M.]

I recommend you do not boil the chicken. Boiling toughens meats.

Bring a pot of water to a boil and add the chicken. Return it to a boil and reduce to a simmer - just a few bubbles coming to the surface at a time.

 

[lindatooo]

Good for you!

If you have boneless/skinless breasts here is a great way to cook them:

In a pot cover them with water then add a cup of soy sauce. Bring them to a boil, cover tightly then tiurn the heat off and let them sit for about 20 minutes, it's called a poach. You can slice the breasts up for sandwiches or put it in a salad. Good either way and they are very tender and nicely flavored.

Keep on trying!

 

[lulu]

I usually grill chicken (grill=broil where I am!), having marinated them or used a rub for flavour, but if you want something stove top how about trying a chicken stew? Its a ood way to get oodles of vegetables and is very easy and healthy. It takes some time, sure, but you can start it the night before so it has a day to "mature" in the fridge or put it on before you start work on an essay, then get stuck in and enjoy your supper after a couple of hours of hard work

Perhaps if you consider the type of microwave meals you wee choosing and then look for simple recipes of the same to cook for yourself....variety is important!

 

[Snoop Puss]

Here's an easy recipe for chicken breasts:

Slice a breast into two or three fillets or buy ready filleted. Dust the fillets in flour. Add a generous knob of (preferably salted) butter to a frying pan and heat until it's just starting to bubble (medium flame). Add the fillets and fry until nicely browned and cooked through. Then add the juice of half a lemon. If you have a fine grater, grate maybe a quarter of the zest of the lemon (just the yellow bit of the skin, no white pith) into the pan. Stir the juice into the butter and serve with whatever you fancy - rice or potatoes, salad or vegetables.

 

[Candocook]

Here's a winner recipe for your chicken. You can adjust the amount of the "marinade"--or make it up, and use only some of it, storing the rest in the fridge for the next time you make it.
Which brings up a topic--IF you marinate chicken/meat, do not use any marinade that has been in contact with the raw meat as a sauce or dip for the cooked meat (unless you bring it to a boil).

Five Ingredient Chicken
2/3C maple syrup
1/4C dijon mustard with 3 tsp. water
2 tsp. curry powder
2 tsp. rubbed sage
4# chicken thighs--I like them with skin on but skin off is OK
Marinate the chicken in the marinade for whatever time you like.Put the chicken pieces in a dish that just holds them close together.
Pour the marinade over. Bake @ 425* for one hour.
If you use skin on chicken, put the skin side up. It gets very crispy and brown.
This makes good leftovers.

 

[VeraBlue]

You are not subjected to an endless parade of boneless, skinless chicken! Rather than buying those parts all the time, buy a couple of whole chickens, season them, and then slowly roast them. You get so much more flavour from slow roasting meat on the bones. You can discard the skin after you cook the chickens, but you will get the benefit of it acting as a natural seal for the juice.

If you do this, you can roast chicken one night, with a fresh green salad.

You can take the breast meat, cut into strips and eat with sauteed (just spray the pan with pam), thinly sliced peppers and onions as fajitas. One whole wheat flour tortilla with a bit of salsa would round that out for you.

You can take the wings and season them with a bit of hot pepper sauce, and serve them with carrot and celery sticks, and a bit of light ranch dressing for dipping.

Take another breast, add to a pan you've sauteed some thinly sliced carrots, thinly sliced celery, green onions, minced fresh ginger and a bit of soy sauce. Serve it over half a cup of brown rice.

Take a couple of legs, pull the meat off, add to a pan you've sauteed some chopped tomatoes, garlic and fresh basil. Serve over a bit of whole wheat linguini.

Yes, you need an thermometer. Please don't thaw any chicken in standing water on the counter. Pull it out a couple of days early and thaw it in the fridge.

By the way, you can make excellent soups from the carcass if you buy your chicken on the bones.