Ways to Spice Up Chicken

Buying boneless chicken breasts can be expensive, but you can save money if you have a little time to spare by de-boning chicken breasts yourself. It's probably a lot easier than you think.

1. Dry the chicken breasts with paper towels and place them skin side down on a cutting board that can be sanitized—don't use wooden cutting boards with chicken (bacteria).
2. Using a small, sharp, pointed knife, carefully remove the bones by inserting the tip of the knife under the tips of the rib bones.
3. Keeping the knife close to the bones, carefully cut away the flesh. Remove the white tendons from the flesh, if you wish. Then gently pull off the skin.
4. Keep the breast whole, or cut it into thin slices or strips.

You can also flatten out chicken breasts with a rolling pin or meat cleaver to make chicken escallops. Put the chicken between two sheets of greaseproof or plastic film and roll or pound them flat.

Bored with your usual chicken breast recipes? Thin slices of chicken or turkey breast are delicious in place of pork or veal in virtually any dish.

If you're looking for some new ideas for roasting chicken, then try one of these tips:

• Juice it up with an apple. Place a whole apple inside the chicken and roast as usual. Throw the apple away when your chicken is done and serve a moist and tender chicken.
• Make it zesty with some lemon. Season a large roasting chicken with salt and pepper inside and out. Cut a lemon in half and squeeze the juice over the chicken. Finally, pour 1/4 cup of water on it. Toss the lemon halves inside the chicken for extra juiciness, and place the bird in a greased baking dish. Bake in a 300°F preheated oven for about three hours, basting it with water as needed.

Do you have leftover chicken bones at the end of a meal? Don't throw them away! Make your own chicken stock with them for a pot of chicken noodle soup or other recipes that call for broth. Just boil the bones in a pot full of water with a few vegetables (carrots, celery, and onions) for an hour or so. Pull out the bones and veggies, and use it right away. Or, if you want to put away your homemade stock for a rainy day, allow the stock to cool and then seal it in an air-tight container. You can refrigerate it for up to a week. If you find that your stock isn't as flavorful as you'd like, you can add a bit of bouillon.