This past year we've been hit with quite the double whammy of consequences locally and globally. Continually rising fuel prices and climatic changes around the globe have turned normal growing seasons and patterns upside down and sideways. Between the diminished supply of certain agricultural products (because of the erratic weather) and the elevation in production and shipping costs for practically all goods, the skyrocketing inflation in prices we are facing is sometimes daunting. And many of us are wondering just how long we're going to able to eek out enough income from what not too long ago was a reasonable/livable income to continue to be able to eat. Because these two consequences seem to be feeding into each other simultaneously, there doesn't seem to be the quick-and-ready fall-back solutions which were options in former similar economic-crunch times. For example, planting a large family garden plot and producing your own food is an obvious solution to combating the inflated food prices at the grocery store—provided the weather cooperates long enough to pull it off.

While even up until last year, taking on an extra temporary job was always a viable way to increase the income to meet the household needs, the gasoline costs required for an additional commute become a serious consideration.

The situation as it stands should be sending up red flags for all of us (no matter the economic strata) that we must focus on working around (or adapting to) the current situations and economic combustion without adding fuel to the fire.

Getting back to the basics

I think for most everyone, it's going to require a pledge to go back to the basics—more wholeheartedly than ever before. And since Jimmie and I have both been around this bend before—continually adapting and bending around certain situations—in future issues I'll share with you some things that we are trying (such as high raised garden beds so flooding won't affect the growth) and some other new things we are going to try.

Starting from scratch

For this issue though, let's talk about something you can get started at right now to get some healthy protein on that family table.

Start from scratch—with chickens

Not only can you enjoy the prosperity of a chicken in every pot (with new flavor and ethnic twists everyday if you want), if you get started pronto on securing a supply, you'll have plenty of this great white meat stocked up in the freezer to winter you over (plus an ongoing egg supply if you wish). I'll chat a little bit about the chicken obtaining and rearing thing, then I'll turn you over to my daughter Shannon, who's quite the creative cook and family-food budgeter, and she can turn you on to some very economic but delicious chicken recipes.

Start now

There are a variety of ways to secure some chickens for your family dinner pot, depending upon where you live, how your place is set up and where (if ever) you go grocery-shopping.

1. Order/buy some day-old Jumbo Cornish-Cross broiler chicks from a local hatchery or one that can ship your chicks in overnight mail and they'll be ready to dress out at 4-5 pounds each in six weeks or less. (You'll want to do this soon! Murray McMurray [1-800-456-3280; www.mcmurrayhatchery.com], for instance, stops shipments on December 17th. Check with your hatchery for their delivery-end dates.)

2. Order/purchase a heavy-weight assortment special of day-old chicks (very affordable) from a hatchery and while some will be ready to dress out in six weeks or less, some will take longer.

3. Buy some fully-grown mature chickens to take home and dress out immediately. At least in our area, the older layers are generally sold off each autumn at a very reasonable price. Check with your local hatchery as they generally have tabs on who is selling, the price per chicken, the location and the date when they will be ready.

4. If you're not into raising your own poultry, get in on some of the sales at your local grocery store. While the rest of the meat products have gone sky high, you can still hit some spot sales where whole chickens run at 69 cents per pound and leg quarters go for 40-50 cents a pound. Watch for the sales, stock up, bring the chicken meat home, skin it and then cut it up (if desired) and package it in one-meal portions for the freezer.

Cost and yield

For the sake of simplicity, let's base our figures on the fact that your goal is to feed your family of four, chicken meals four times a week year ‘round. Then, let's assume that you will use two pounds of chicken meat for each meal. So, the ultimate goal here, is roughly 400 pounds of finished chicken meat.

To produce this meat from day-old chicks, you'll need to purchase 100 of the heavy breed meat chicks. For the Jumbo Cornish Cross your initial outlay would be just around $100, depending upon the hatchery from which you purchase.

At places like Cackle Hatchery (PO Box 529, Lebanon, MO 65536; 1-417-532-4581, www.cacklehatchery.com), you can also get a Special Heavy Assorted for $38—which of course, will not yield you the super giant chickens, but still do you quite well.

For feed you're looking at another $75-$80—the cost of which can go down if you've got some garden leftovers to add in as the chickens mature. So, on the cheap end you can produce that 400 pounds of chicken meat for as little as $120—which puts your price at around 30 cents per pound. And that's 1/3 of what you will pay for a one-pound package of hot dogs!

It's not too late

While according to most farming family traditions, day-old chicks are started in early spring (the February 14 Valentine's Day holiday usually marks the annual date), we have found that starting our chicks right at the end of August or the beginning of September is by far the best bet for a variety of reasons.

• First, in early spring and up until just before Mother's Day we can have some chilly spells here, meaning that the chicks must be kept quite warm, which requires energy usage. In late August or early September, this is not an issue whatsoever.

• Secondly, chicks grow rapidly and require loads of food. While you will always need some starter mix to start them off and then some corn grain no matter spring or fall, you'll generally have to feed corn to those spring chicks all the way through. In the fall, however, once your chicks have had a decent start, you can switch to feeding them the leftover garden produce. They love those overgrown squash, ugly bruised tomatoes and whatever else you were going to throw onto the compost pile.

• Spring chicks will be ready to dress out just about the time it gets hot and sticky outdoors...and also when flies, flies and more flies arrive on the scene. This makes the dressing process hot and miserable. These late August/early September chicks will be ready to dress out in mid-October, when the weather is pleasant and brisk and most of the flies have said "adieu" for the year, or at least they're not around in the early morning when I usually dress my chickens out.

Bare bones necessities

Chickens require very little to get along and there's absolutely no reason to put yourself in the poorhouse in an effort to save money by raising your own food.

Water: Chicks—from the moment you bring them home—need water. There are waterers on the market which consist of simply a round piece of plastic onto which you can screw an ordinary mason jar. You fill the mason jar with water, screw the round plastic on top, turn it over and you're done. For feed, you can use practically anything, but the best vessel if you can afford one or two (or borrow them) is a circular feeder which holds loads of grain and then allows it to drop into the bottom feeding tray as the chicks eat.

Shelter: In the late summer or early fall, chicks need very little to stay warm—perhaps a low wattage heat bulb above them at night, if anything. When you first bring them home, the small chicks can be housed in a large cardboard box or in a barn with a boundary of wood or fencing circled around them. Once they get a few days old and begin to feather out—if you have no dogs, cats or wild predators on your place—you can pretty much let the chicks run free and they can pasture on the wild stuff as they roam the area. Chicks will always find their way back to the major feed and water source, so you don't have to worry about that. Once your chickens are ready to dress, you'll need to set some time aside to get that job done. I generally skin the whole chicken and after cleaning it thoroughly, freeze it whole or in pieces. Then all you have to do is cook it up!

Creative cooking with Shannon

Chicken can be prepared many different ways and carries a different flavor with each dish, so your family can eat chicken with a Mexican twist one night, an oriental-style chicken dish the next night, and an American meat and potatoes dish on another evening. The beauty of chicken is that it will pick up the flavors in a variety of recipes and transform it into an appealing dish different from the chicken dish you cooked the night before. The next best part is that you can use last night's leftover chicken meat, and since it's already cooked (save some when you cook it up before you add any special spices or flavoring) you can keep your family's appetite rolling in a quick-fix meal that is entirely different from the night before!

Mom always used the chickens we raised and dressed in two simple meals: chicken soup (oh my, delicious) and fried chicken (even better than the soup). These were two staple meals in our home during my childhood and of course, we loved them if for no other reason than they were considered comfort foods by my sister Shelby and me.

I am the mom of two kids, seven-year-old Brady and three-year-old Bryce, and wife to Kenny. It's different now from those days back in the 1970s when Shelby and I were at home and all we really ate was country-style American. My family has been exposed to all different kinds of ethnic foods and tastes and they crave the variety—which means, I better cook it up for them.

Following are some recipes that I have tried and continue to use. (To give you a hint on how well they work, my husband—who really dislikes chicken—commented that the baked chicken was "the best meal I had ever made.") I about fell on the floor—he said that after eight years of marriage! So you know that recipe has to be a winner and it's the one I'll start off with.

Roast Chicken and Veggies

This actually came from the cookbook Dining on a Dime (available from the Countryside Bookstore, 1-800-551-5691) but I had to change it for our liking. For me, it really didn't matter whether I prepared our vegetables first or chicken. I usually started the chicken, to see how much room I had for the vegetables, but again, I don't think it really matters.

1 chicken (about 4-5 lbs. for my family of 4)
A covered roaster or pan deep enough to put aluminum foil over the chicken
Vegetables of choice (I usually use potatoes, carrots and celery or any combination thereof)
3-4 chicken bouillon cubes
Water
Salt and pepper
Poultry seasoning

Clean the chicken; place it in the pan. When in the pan or roaster, rub the poultry seasoning inside and around the outside of the chicken. Add enough water to cover the bottom of the pan about an inch or so. Add bouillon cubes and vegetables. If you have new potatoes and tender baby carrots from the garden on hand, by all means use them to save time in cutting and also, the flavor is better. Sprinkle salt and pepper over everything. Cover and cook 1/2 hour at 450ºF, then reduce heat to 350ºF and bake for another half hour. Reduce heat again to 250ºF and let cook for an additional 2-1/2 hours. Baste occasionally but not real often. When chicken is done (check to make sure the juices run clear), your meal is ready to eat. The best part is you already have the start of your next meal made! As a do-ahead tip: take the remaining chicken and dice or cube it for the next meal.

Chicken and Cheese Enchiladas

This also came from Dining on a Dime but again, I gave it my own twist. It was originally Cheese Enchiladas with regular red sauce. I'm not a fan of red sauce so I took a cheese sauce recipe and used it instead. Again, my husband really enjoyed this meal. It does take a little more work, but it is well worth it. This time, you probably won't have any leftovers. I would recommend starting the cheese sauce first because it takes a little longer.

Ingredients:
Cooked chicken from the night before, cut into chunks or diced
1 green pepper
1 onion
Butter
Tortilla of choice, corn or flour
Pan for sautéing
Greased baking pan
1-quart saucepan

Cheese sauce:
1/2 cup dry milk
2 tablespoons flour
Dash salt
1 cup cold water
1 tablespoon margarine
American cheese, any processed cheese cubes or shredded cheddar

In a covered jar, combine dry milk, flour, and salt and mix well. Add water. Shake until all the ingredients are dissolved. Melt margarine in a 1-quart saucepan. Stir in flour/milk mixture and cook over low heat until mixture thickens. Add cheese (at least 1/2 cup but more doesn't hurt. Although it makes the sauce thicker and a little more difficult to spread over the enchiladas, the super taste makes up for it). When the mixture starts to bubble, keep stirring until thickened completely. Note: This recipe can be doubled but add only 1-3/4 cups water.

Enchilada filling:

Cut onion and green pepper—diced, strips, whatever you prefer. Sauté in margarine in pan until desired tenderness. Add chicken and sauté just long enough to heat chicken and blend the flavors.

Load tortillas with ¼ cup pepper, onion and chicken mixture. Roll and place seam side down in a baking pan. When all tortillas are filled, cover with cheese sauce and bake covered in a 350ºF oven for about 20-30 minutes.

Kung Pao Chicken

To spice up your meal try this from a recipe that originally came from Quick From Scratch: Chicken and Other Birds and which I once again twisted to suit my family's taste.

1-1/2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 4) cut into 1/2 inch pieces
5 tablespoons soy sauce, divided
2 tablespoons sherry, divided
1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons cornstarch, divided
2 teaspoons sugar
2 tablespoons white-wine vinegar or rice vinegar
2 teaspoons Asian sesame oil
1/3 cup water
2 tablespoons cooking oil, divided
1/2 cup peanuts
4 scallions, white bulbs and green tops cut separately into 1/2 inch pieces
1/4 teaspoon dried red-pepper flakes

To prepare: start with a medium bowl, toss the chicken with 1 tablespoon soy sauce, 1 tablespoon sherry, and cornstarch. Let set for at least 15 minutes at room temperature or longer (refrigerated and covered) even if you want to prepare the night before.

Next, in a small bowl, combine the sugar, vinegar, sesame oil, water and the remaining 4 tablespoons of soy sauce, 1 tablespoon of sherry and 2 teaspoons cornstarch.

In a wok or large frying pan, heat 1 tablespoon of the oil over moderately high heat. Add the peanuts and stir-fry until light brown, about 30 seconds. Remove from the pan.

Heat the remaining 1-tablespoon of oil. Add the white part of the scallions and the red-pepper flakes to the pan and cook, stirring, for 30 seconds.

Add the chicken with its marinade and cook, stirring, until almost done, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the soy sauce mixture and the scallion tops and simmer until the chicken is just done, about 1 minute longer. Stir in the peanuts.

Note: For a variation you can substitute the same amount of cashews for the peanuts to make Cashew Chicken.

The next two recipes come from a new menu program my husband and I have adopted called "The Six Week Body Makeover," by Michael Therman. I like these because they are very healthy for us and they are easy to prepare. I am sure this will be easy for all and the best part about these two chicken meals is that they do not call for goofy ingredients that your local grocery store won't carry. I find it difficult to try new recipes that call for unheard of ingredients. (I used to skip the fresh ground black pepper because I didn't want to spend a fortune for those huge grinder things. Well, just last week I found it at the local grocery store and the Dollar General priced at less than $2 a bottle and located in the spices section.) I was surprised to taste the difference of fresh ground pepper. But—don't use the same amount of fresh pepper as you would normally use, as the taste is much stronger, so try a little at first. You can always add more.

Shish Kebab

1 lb. skinless chicken breast, cubed
1 large red onion, sliced
2 small zucchini sliced
2 large green peppers, seeded and cut in 1" pieces
8 large mushrooms
1/2 cup lemon juice
2 tablespoon fresh ginger minced
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon black pepper, freshly ground

There are four easy steps to prepare this.

1. Mix lemon juice, ginger, garlic and black pepper to make marinade. Add chicken pieces and mix well. Cover and refrigerate for 2-3 hours.

2. Remove chicken from marinade and add vegetables to marinade to coat.

3. Thread chicken and vegetables onto 4 skewers, alternating chicken and veggies.

4. Place skewers on grill and cook for approximately 10 minutes, turning carefully to cook on all sides.

Note: For variation, you can use fresh pineapple cubes, onions, chicken and green peppers to create Chicken Luau Kebabs. Or just go with whatever vegetable you like the best. But remember to cut all your food about the same size to avoid over-cooking of the smaller pieces.

Jambalaya

This has quite a few ingredients, but don't let that stop you. Consider this your splurge meal once a week. And according to the directions you will see no salt/sodium added, but you can choose to use that or your leftover chicken broth from the previous recipe or some leftover broth that you've saved back (and frozen) from some homemade chicken soup.

3 pounds skinless chicken breast, cubed
1 cup chicken broth (no sodium added)
1/2 cup onion, chopped
1/2 cup celery, chopped
1 green pepper, seeded and chopped
1 cup white wine
1/2 teaspoon basil
1/2 teaspoon thyme
1 bay leaf
1/2 teaspoon black pepper, freshly ground
1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
1 cup uncooked rice
1/2 cup cooked shrimp
2 tomatoes, diced

In saucepan, combine broth, onion, celery, pepper, wine and spices. Bring to boil, stirring often. Remove from heat.

Place rice, chicken, shrimp and tomato in large casserole dish. Pour herb mixture into casserole, making sure that all rice gets covered.

Cover and bake 30 minutes at 350ºF. Turn off oven, but leave casserole dish in for an additional 15 minutes. Then enjoy!

Barbecue Chicken Pizza

And of course you can't go without having pizza. This works even better if you still have leftover chicken from another recipe. I have kind of created/copied this from one of our local pizza shops. If you like pizza, you will like this. And after a lengthy recipe it is nice to have a super easy, super quick idea for dinner.

1 can refrigerated pizza dough
1/2 to 1 cup chicken, cooked and cubed
1-1/2 cups of your favorite BBQ sauce
1 to 2 cups mozzarella cheese
1 cup Colby-jack or pizza cheese
1/2 purple onion (sliced into rings, diced, or strips)

Prepare one pizza dough.

Then cover the dough with barbecue sauce to your desired consistency. I don't go to the edge of the pizza to leave room for crust. And I would recommend not over-piling on the sauce. I have done that and all I tasted was the sauce.

Then add your chicken, onion and cheeses. And remember, this is your pizza. So add as much or as little of the toppings you like. If there are other ingredients you like with BBQ chicken, add it. If you don't like onion, you can omit it.

Bake according to the directions on the dough package. Yummy!

Lemony Chicken Breast

This last recipe comes from Dining on a Dime again. I saw this book at my sister's house and found that it has a lot of simple recipes with not a lot of cost outlay—so, I had to get my own. Glad I did because this recipe has a lot of common ingredients and like most of the recipes I am sharing, does not take a long time to cook.

2 bell peppers, chopped
1 whole chicken breast, boneless and skinless
1 tablespoon flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
2 teaspoon olive oil
1/3 cup chicken broth
2 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon parsley, chopped
2 cups pasta, cooked

In a skillet, sauté bell peppers over medium heat in a small amount of oil. Cut chicken into strips. Mix flour, salt and pepper in a bowl. Coat chicken with flour mixture. Remove peppers.