Works for me Wednesday - Using Cooked Cubed Chicken

A few weeks ago, my Works for me Wednesday post was about how I cook and freeze chicken for quick meals. A reader left a comment wondering what I do with the cooked chicken...good question! I use it all the time.

Here are a few ideas:

Chicken Quesadillas

Poppy Seed Chicken Casserole or Chicken and Stuffing Casserole

Chicken Stroganoff - Heat 1 packet of cooked cubed chicken breast, 1 can cream of chicken soup, 1 packet of onion soup mix, and 1/2 c. sour cream until heated through. Serve over egg noodles or rice.

Chicken Helper

Tortilla Wraps - use cooked cubed chicken (warmed in the microwave) and a tortilla to make a variety of wraps. Cesar: Use lettuce, Parmesan, and Cesar dressing. Ranch: Use lettuce, tomato, and ranch dressing. Southwestern: Use cheese, lettuce, tomato, and salsa. These are fun to make and eat!

These are the ways we use our cooked cubed chicken most often - it is such a huge time saver and it works for me!

Check out Rocks in my Dryer for other great Works for me Wednesday ideas!

Frugal Meal Planning

If you read my story on BeCentsible last week, you know I don't plan meals in a traditional way. I don't like to plan meals for weeks in advance because I like to be flexible, but I do have a general idea of what I have and what I want to make. Here are some things that I do to plan meals that are quick, frugal, and delicious.

Plan your meals around items your surplus items. For example, last Sunday we had both sides of the family over for Mexican food. We had a lot of leftovers which we ate for lunch and dinner the next few days. Some things that we still have leftover are tortillas and shredded lettuce. We also have a lot of tomatoes from our garden that we needed to use. Keeping that in mind, this week we had BLT's for dinner using the lettuce and tomatoes. Tonight we are having chicken wraps with cooked cubed chicken breast, lettuce, tomatoes, shreded cheese and ranch dressing in a tortilla.

Make extras on purpose so that you have leftovers. A good example of this is whenever I make Poppy Seed Chicken Casserole, I make extra rice and leave it in the fridge. There are so many things that you can do with rice! I love to eat it for breakfast with butter, cinnamon, and sugar or with butter and brown sugar. I also have a great recipe that uses cooked rice - make a white sauce, add peas, mushrooms, celery, onion, and cooked cubed chicken breast. This is a delicious comforting meal. You can also make a gravy to serve over rice with hamburger, cream of mushroom soup, onion soup mix, and sour cream. So yummy! Also, if you are making one thing anyway, make two and put one in the freezer, this will come in handy on those days you really don't want to cook.

Use items from your stockpile. Be creative too! I have a ton of spaghetti sauce. I have used this to make lasagna, spaghetti, and chicken parmesan. I also have a lot of boxed dinners, see my article about how to dress them up here. I also have a lot of salad dressing which can be used for marinating, dips, pasta salads, etc.

Go meatless...or use less meat! Meat can be a frugal person's budget buster. I always use less that what is called for in most recipes. I use about 1/2 pound of hamburger in Hamburger Helper, spaghetti, etc. I use about 1 cup of cooked cubed chicken breast in casseroles for my family of 4. You can also plan delicious meatless meals - vegetable lasagna, home baked macaroni and cheese, potato soups, baked potato bar, there are alot of possibilities.

Whatever you do, you have to do what works best for you and your family!

Dressing up a boxed dinner

As a busy mom, I am always looking for ways to make a quick meal for my family, without going out to eat (and busting our budget). I have had great luck lately and have stocked up on "helpers" for $.75 to $1.00 each. This is a great quick, inexpensive meal for the family, but I like to dress them up for a more home made taste. (Frugal side note: Don't ever use all of the meat that they call for, it seems to overpower the "helper" - except tuna. I only use about 1 1/2 cups of cooked crumbled ground beef in Hamburger Helper and about 1 1/2 cups of cooked cubed chicken for Chicken Helper. I buy ground beef and chicken in bulk and cook it all and freeze in meal size portions).

Here are some suggestions:

1. I love to add frozen peas after it has been brought to a boil, and before I reduce heat and cover. This is especially good with Tuna Helper Cheesy Pasta.
2. After your "helper" is done add something on top - bread crumbs, parmesan cheese, grated cheese, french fried onions, fresh diced tomatoes, etc.
3. Did you know you that there are also directions for cooking your "helper" in the oven. This adds a different twist and makes it into more of a casserole. Before cooking add chopped onions, chopped celery, frozen peas (thawed), frozen broccoli (thawed).
4. There is a chicken helper meal that is a Cheesy Enchilada with Rice (I can't remember the exact name). I love to make this and then serve it in tortillas. It makes a great burrito - you could even add black beans, refried beans and/or sour cream.

You know what your family likes, so think outside the box (no pun intended) and dress up your boxed dinners!

What are you going to do with all that soup???

Yes, I bought a lot of soup at Albertson's yesterday. This will probably be my supply for a whole year for Cream of Mushroom, Tomato, and Cream of Chicken. If you went crazy like I did, or if you have a lot of soup that you don't know what to do with it, here are some ideas:


Poppy Seed Chicken Casserole
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 cup sour cream (you can use light sour cream)
1 tbsp poppy seeds
1-2 cups cubed cooked chicken
4 cups cooked rice
1 sleeve crushed Ritz crackers


Combine all ingredients (except Ritz crackers) in an 8x8 casserole dish. Sprinkle with Ritz crackers drizzle with 1/2 stick melted butter if desired. Bake at 350 for 35 minutes.


Chicken and Stuffing Casserole
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 package of stuffing; prepared according to package directions
1 can green beans; drained
1-2 cups cubed cooked chicken



Combine soup, green beans, and chicken in an 8x8 casserole dish. Scoop/spread the stuffing on top. Bake at 350 for 35 minutes.


Haystack Casserole
5-6 medium potatoes; sliced
1-2 carrots; sliced
1 onion; diced
1/2 lb ground beef; cooked, crumbled, and drained
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can tomato soup
1/2 cup water


Layer the following in your crock pot. 1/3 potatoes, 1/3 carrots, 1/3 onion, 1/3 beef repeat layers. Combine soups and water, pour over everything in the crock pot. Cook on low for 8-10 hours or on high 4-5 hours. This has a similar taste to beef stew and is delicious.


These are a few of our favorites, but the possibilities are endless. Check out the Campbell's website for thousands of recipe ideas!