Recipe Savers: Chicken Bundles

Over the past 8 months we have dramatically reduced our grocery budget by shopping at Aldi... so much so, I've started to share my recipes, secrets and tips in a new feature called Recipe Savers.

This recipe comes from the makers of Pillsbury and is their Creamy Garlic Chicken Bundles ... but its been adapted to my families taste buds.

Do you know, this FREEZES amazingly well... So much so that I make a double batch so we can freeze some and we have plenty of leftovers for lunches or a quick dinner. Even the toddler eats this adaptation.

I use this recipe to make my own Alfredo sauce from scratch... it's so much better and doesn't take much additional time. I also add Broccoli instead of bell peppers and do more veggies than the original calls for because we like our greens and I think it makes it taste better.

So how much does it cost to make?

$20.31 for 16 servings at Aldi... that's $1.27 each... which is enough for 4 meals 

Heavy Whipping Cream: $1.99 (I've gotten it as cheap as $0.49).

Chicken Breasts: 6.25 (2/3 a family pack, about 6 breasts)

1 lb of Broccoli: $0.79

Butter: $1.34 (2 sticks of the 4 stick box -- whole box is $2.69)

Crescent rolls: $3.96 (4 cans @ $0.99 a can)

Minced Garlic: $0.40 (Whole jar is $2.19)

Parmesan Block: $3.79

Bag of Spinach: $1.29

Dried Parsley: $0.50

Step 1: Cook chicken in oven. 350 for 35-45 minutes.

Step 2: While chicken is cooking, Shred the whole Parmesan cheese block in your food processor or by hand. Put aside 3 cups for the Alfredo (your making a double batch)... Melt 2 sticks of butter in a sauce pan and heat the 2 cup container of whipping cream... then add the 3 cups of Parmesan until it melts and combines well. Stir in some minced Garlic and add some Parsley flakes... set aside.

Step 3: Wash and chop broccoli into pieces (I include the stem -- I just peel the thick skin off with a peeler or a knife) and steam in microwave. Then dump in a food processor to mince. add in spinach leaves so they get finely chopped as well. Put in a large bowl with the remaining Parmesan you shredded and with some more minced garlic.  

Step 4: Take Chicken out of the oven and after it rests and cools, put it in the food processor to shred.  Add shredded chicken to bowl of broccoli and spinach. Mix. Add 1/2 the Alfredo sauce from the skillet, and combine.

Step 5: Take the crescent rolls out of the tubes and place two of them to form a square/rectangle buy pinching the middle seams together (4 cans = 16 squares). Cram tons of filling (Chicken, broccoli, spinach mixture) into them and pull in the corners so they close the bundle. Bake in the oven 350 for about 25 minutes.

Spoon remaining Alfredo onto the tops of the bundles before serving. 

  

I'll serve this with some sliced fruit normally since the veggies are inside, so I treat it like a casserole meal. Hubs normally eats 2 at dinner, I eat one, toddler eats about a 1/2 a bundle, sometimes more, just depends. It also pairs well with salad. 

Pair my $0.65 breakfast burritos with my $0.93 Broccoli Bacon Cheese Soup and the have these tasty chicken bundles for dinner ($1.27) and a single person has three meals for $2.85! Grab an apple ($0.34), a glass of milk ($0.32); dunk that soup with 2 slices of whole wheat bread ($0.18) and its only $3.69... Just saying...