Embracing the incredible versatility of chicken–America's No. 1 protein–with Stacie Billis

*In response to travel restrictions and social distancing due to COVID-19, this week's interview was recorded remotely and not in-studio. Thanks for listening.*

Everybody's looking for chicken [online]. It's always the No. 1 searched for food: chicken, chicken dinners, how to cook chicken. I realized that if my passion is solving problems for busy home cooks—and in particular parents—then giving them chicken solutions is definitely a helpful thing.

BROOKLYN, NEW YORK—This week, we're excited to welcome Stacie Billis to Salt & Spine, the podcast on cookbooks.

Stacie Billis is a food writer whose award-winning blog, One Hungry Mama, was considered one of the first food blogs focused on parents and feeding your family. Stacie has also been the Founding Food Editor-in-Chief at the Cool Mom Picks network — and today, she shares her life, recipes, and tips as the "family cook" on social media.

Stacie is also one of the voices behind the popular podcast, Didn’t I Just Feed You, a show about feeding families that she co-hosts with Meghan Splawn, Associate Food Editor for Kitchn.com. [Salt + Spine host Brian Hogan Stewart has joined the DIJFY podcast twice to talk cookbooks with Stacie and Meghan—be sure to subscribe to their show!]

And of course, Stacie is a cookbook author — her first book, Make It Easy, focused on shortcuts using store-bought ingredients. And her latest, Winner! Winner! Chicken Dinner, is all about how to harness the flavor and versatility of—you guessed it—chicken.

In today’s show, we’re talking with Stacie about:

• how a background in child development led her to career in food writing

• the popularity of chicken — now the most consumed protein in the U.S., with the average American now buying 53 pounds, per person, per year — and some tricks for producing flavorful, juicy chicken dishes;

• and about her foray into podcasting, which cookbook authors she turns to as a home cook, and more.

And of course, we’re playing a chicken-themed game with Stacie at the end of the show — don't miss it!