Homemade Shake & Bake Chicken Halves

Chicken has recently been on sale so I took advantage of the low prices to stock up.  I typically do this with any meat or fish not purchased in bulk when they are on sale.  My experience has been that you really do need to know the current prices.  Sometimes it is less expensive to buy from the meat counter at the abattoir even considering the price of gas than it is at the grocery store.  This is often the case when it comes to pork loin cuts.  Our local Wal-mart offers price matching so even though their price of meat may be higher they will match the competitor's price.  Market sale prices for meats and fish are cyclic as are most sales so that is something to consider as well.

I bought a few of the whole chickens on sale.  It is less expensive to cut up the chicken yourself than to buy already cut chicken pieces.  I cut a couple of the whole chickens in half.  They are excellent for grilling when cut this way.  A few days ago, I thawed two halves with the intention of grilling.  By dinner time, it was literally raining cats and dogs.  I'm not kidding!  I made a quick change of plans to coat the chicken halves with homemade shake & bake mix.  Many consider this type of coating strictly for chicken pieces but it can be used on even whole chickens and as the coating for country fried steak.

I baked the chicken at 350°F/175°C until the chicken was golden brown, just starting to caramelize and the juices were clear (about 50 minutes).  Baked potatoes are perfect when baking chicken because they cook in about the same time.  Cooking more than one dish at a time in the oven is always the frugal use of whatever cooking fuel you are using.

The chicken, as always, was moist and tender, simply delicious.  Sometimes simple meals are the best, often falling under the category of comfort meals.  Now, a half chicken is a lot of meat, certainly more than I can eat at one sitting.  Generally, a half chicken is enough for both of us.  I cooked both halves as planned leftovers since shake & bake chicken reheats nicely.  This really was an easy, frugal meal coming in at a total cost of just under $6 for 4 servings including sides or $1.50 per meal.  Doesn't it look scrumptious?