Looking for some easy, thrifty ideas for chicken leg quarters? Great meals for families on the go! First, a little tip with a caution added. Look for the 10 pound bags to go on sale; sometimes as cheap as .25 per pound. However, only buy from a store you trust. I have gotten some very fatty chicken this way; and it's not pleasant. When it's good you can't beat the deal! I am going to try to squeeze in a few recipes and suggestions this month, so let's get started.

Shopping List

two 10 pound bags chicken leg quarters
potatoes, red or white
red onion
2 whole heads garlic
white rice
14 ounces jar spaghetti sauce
favorite Barbecue sauce
4 ounces any smoked sausage
noodles
buns
green pepper
salad ingredients
favorite dressing

Spanish Chicken and Rice

2 tsp.. oil
1/2 red onion
green pepper
2 garlic cloves, sliced very thin
1 cup water
1 cup uncooked long grain white rice
4 chicken leg quarters
14 oz. spaghetti sauce
4 oz. smoked sausage

Cut as much of the skin and fat as possible off the chicken.Thinly slice green pepper onion and sausage. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add pepper and garlic; cook for 3 to 4 minutes while stirring. Add water and rice, then place the chicken on top. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes to partially cook rice. Stir in sauce, the scatter sausage over chicken. Cover and simmer 10 to 15 more minutes, stirring rice and turning chicken once, until chicken is done. Serve with rolls, and corn.

Roast Chicken

1 lemon. quartered
8 chicken leg quarters
2 tsp. fresh thyme, or 1 dried
1 tbls. oil, plus 2 tsp..
1 tsp.. salt
3/4 tsp.. coarse black pepper
2 pounds potatoes, small or quartered
1/2 red onion, sliced thin
2 heads garlic (missing 2 cloves from above)

Cut garlic cloves in half, lengthwise. Remove skin and fat from chicken, and rinse.

Mix 1 tsp.. of the thyme, 2 tsp.. oil, 1/4 tsp.. pepper. Rub on chicken. Place in large roasting pan. Combine potatoes, onion, garlic, remaining thyme, oil and pepper. Arrange around the chicken. Place lemons on top of chicken.

Roast in 400 degree oven for 1 hour. Check to see if chicken is done. Cook 15 minutes more if necessary. Arrange on platter; remove lemon. Serve with a green salad and your favorite dressing.

Shredded BBQ Chicken

5 to 10 pounds of chicken
Salt
Pepper
Herbs
Onion

This is a very casual, but great recipe. You can cook half of the ten pounds of leg quarters or the whole bag. Cut the skin and fat off the chicken. Place in stock pot with your choice of spices; onion, garlic, herbs such as oregano, thyme or sage, or even peppers such a jalapeno or Thai peppers. Use your imagination. Cook for about one hour, or until it's falling off the bone. Strain chicken. Stock can be frozen for soup. When chicken is cool, take the meat off the bone. Place in a crock pot, add your favorite BBQ sauce. You want it moist but not soupy. Cook on high, stirring occasionally to break up meat. 8 hours is a good guideline, but you can tell it's done when the meat is shredded. If it looks dry at any point add more sauce. Serve on buns with cole slaw, chips and raw veggies. This is even better warmed up, so don't be afraid of making too much.

Suggestions: At this point if you have any chicken left over throw it in a pot, boil for an hour and add noodles. As long as you cut the fat and skin off, you don't really have to worry so much about skimming the fat off. Kids love chicken and noodles for lunch or supper.

Check out our featured called Easy Beef Dinners here: http://www.thefamilycorner.com/cgi-bin/dir/jump.cgi?ID=3752

About the Author
Brenda Hyde is a 38 year old wife and mother of two boys, 4 and 5 years old. She runs her online bookshop of out of print and collectable titles, designs her own site and still finds creative ways to cook on a budget!  We hope this column gives you some ideas as well as meals for your family. Be sure to visit Brenda at Seeds of Knowledge, where you can share family memories at Tea Time, and explore The Treehouse to learn about backyard nature.

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