The first story from House Wickler Hearth
Saturday’s grocery delivery included one of those giant family packs of chicken breasts. They were on sale for $2.69 per pound, and at 4.68 pounds, the entire package cost $12.59.
Normally I would divide a package like this into smaller freezer bags the day I brought it home.
But…
It was Saturday.
I wasn’t spending my weekend breaking down chicken.
So the entire package went straight into the freezer.
The night before dinner I pulled the whole package out to thaw.
That’s when I realized I had created a new problem.
Once thawed, I needed to cook every bit of it.
Thankfully, I’d already planned several chicken dinners for the week, so instead of seeing six enormous chicken breasts as too much food, I started seeing them as meal prep.
The chicken breasts were enormous.
I’m pretty sure these chickens were distant cousins of dinosaurs.
Since I wanted the leftovers to work in multiple meals, I seasoned everything with rotisserie chicken seasoning instead of something more specific.
That way the leftovers could become whatever I needed later in the week.
There wasn’t much of a recipe.
Olive oil.
Rotisserie seasoning.
Into a 425° oven.
The chicken cooked for about 15 minutes before I added the broccoli.
The broccoli wasn’t complicated either.
Frozen broccoli.
Microwave for five minutes.
Drain the water.
Spread it onto the sheet pan.
Back into the oven for another ten minutes.
While everything roasted, I made a box of Chicken Rice-A-Roni.
Why?
Because it was already sitting in the pantry.
Sometimes the best side dish isn’t the fanciest one.
It’s simply the one you already own.
When the timer went off, I pulled the pan out to check the chicken.
Chris happened to be on his lunch break, so we video chatted while he helped me judge whether my dinosaur-sized chicken breasts were actually done.
We both agreed they needed another five to ten minutes.
One of the smaller pieces was ready, though, so that one came off with the broccoli.
The chicken turned out juicy.
The broccoli?
I’d probably roast mine a little longer next time because I love crispy, charred vegetables.
Chris would probably say it was perfect.
Dinner for two came together for roughly $6.45.
That’s less than I could buy dinner for just myself almost anywhere.
But the biggest win wasn’t tonight’s dinner.
It was everything that came afterward.
After dinner, the remaining chicken cooled before I vacuum sealed it into two meal-sized packages.
One package is already planned for loaded baked potatoes.
The other will probably become chicken broccoli Alfredo.
One evening of cooking became three dinners.
That, to me, is the real value of buying family packs.
Even if your household is only two people (plus two goblins), larger packages can absolutely make sense when the price is right.
Instead of thinking about feeding two people tonight, think about feeding yourselves several times this week.
Sometimes saving money isn’t about clipping coupons.
Sometimes it’s simply cooking once and eating three times.
Real life doesn’t usually stop for perfectly styled food photos.
Sometimes the chicken gets cut up before you remember to take another picture.
Honestly…that feels very House Wickler.
Around the Table
Chris’ Review
🍗 Chicken: “Chicken is good.”
🥦 Broccoli: “Broccoli is good. Broccoli cooked correctly.”
🍚 Rice: “It’s good.”
🔁 Would we make it again? “Yes.”
🔥 Hearth Score
💰 Budget Friendly: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
🥣 Ease: ⭐⭐⭐⭐☆
📅 Future Us: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
🧽 Cleanup: ⭐⭐⭐⭐☆ (One sheet pan, one skillet, one microwave bowl.)
❤️ Would We Make It Again? ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
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