Monday, January 4, 2010

Buttermilk & Almond Chicken


One of the meals my children love is breaded chicken pieces that have been soaked overnight in buttermilk and garlic.
In Australia buttermilk is a bit expensive, so what I do is buy a carton when its use-by date is almost reached and the supermarket have put their $1 sale sticker in place. I was able to do this on Saturday afternoon, so my plan began as soon as I walked in the door 1/2 an hour later.


Soak the chicken pieces in the buttermilk, with a crushed garlic clove. Give it all a good stir, cover and refrigerate for 24 hours. The buttermilk makes the chicken so tender it melts in your mouth! (You can use natural yoghurt for similar result)





Take your stale bread pieces and whizz them in the food processor....





Throw in a handful of almonds....





Whizz the breadcrumbs and almonds for a few minutes until the almonds have broken down...





Set up a production line. Dip the chicken pieces in the almond/bread crumbs, pat the crumbs down firmly. When all the pieces are covered put them in the fridge for 1/2 an hour. 
(This is when I make the salad)





Put 2 teaspoons of olive oil in a non-stick frypan, and cook the chicken on a low/medium heat. The almonds have their own oil and as long as you cook the chicken slowly it will brown up and crisp beautifully.
Serve alongside a fresh salad drizzled with a balsamic glaze, and add a tablespoon of extra light sour cream mixed with sweet chilli sauce on the side. 




Healthy, low-fat, inexpensive!
YUM!!

 ~~~~~


The key to truly saving money when buying reduced price perishables is USE them. I confess I have stocked up on sale-marked perishables in the past and had to throw them all out a few days later as they had not been used - the intention was there when I bought them, but quickly forgotten the next day when planning meals. Of course, I didn't just throw the food away, but the $$ I paid for them as well!

Now, I only buy these reduced-sticker items with an immediate plan in mind to use them.When I saw the buttermilk reduced to $1 I planned to use it the minute I got home. 

This is just an example of changes I am making during this frugal-living year to lessen financial and food waste. 
If you're interested in living a simpler, frugal life, go and visit my friend Fiona's blog - she is an amazing resource for anyone who wants to be kinder to the environment and their wallet. 


Hugs
Jenny
xxx


8 comments:

Elizabeth said...

O:
There were almonds in that!?!

Love,
Eli

Chookyblue...... said...

hopefully your SSCS will be there very soon.........

Abby and Stephanie said...

Yum...I'll be making this one very soon. Thank you.

Maria said...

Looks so yummy will have to try it.

Fee said...

Hey Jen,
This looks delicious. :-)
You can always make your own "cheap" buttermilk by adding lemon juice to normal milk. I do this for recipes that require buttermilk and everything always works out fine and tastes good.
http://frugalliving.about.com/od/condimentsandspices/r/Buttermilk_Sub.htm
Love,
Fee x

p.s. Happy New Year to you all!

Unknown said...

That looks so good! On my way.....I 'll try that recipe soon. Thanks.

Allie said...

That looks so good I might have to try it! I don't have a food processer, I wonder if the blender would work as well.

Wendyb said...

Thank you, thank you, thank you Jenny! I made your crumbed chicken recipe tonight.....oh boy......yummo, deliciouso!!!!! My son said it's his new fave...only thing is that I could only marinate for about 3 hours but still tenderised beautifully and I substituted parmesan cheese for almonds (we grind our own up into a fine crumb). Just like chicken kiev, only better! This is going to be on our family menu as a regular now!!!!
sugary hugs
Wendy :O) XXX