How To Get 3+ Meals out of One Chicken
I know, because I hear it from you guys all the time, and I’m just like you, anyway.
Sure, you’re willing to pay higher-than-grocery-store prices for real food.
A new friend said yesterday, “I don’t have a choice.” After years of struggling with poor health from an antibiotic reaction, she’s learned what she can and cannot eat, and factory-raised meat is OUT.
I get it, because we had to make the same choice years ago, when our son had ongoing rashes the creams just wouldn’t fix.
And yet…and yet…few of us are really “rolling in the dough!” We’re raising kids, sometimes on one income, and it’s just hard to make ends meet.
Now, there IS the advantage that real food is more nourishing, meaning that it takes less to fill you up. My friend Cheri said, “My kids are more satisfied and full after a meal with a Collins Cluckery chicken than anything I’ve brought home from the grocery store.” (Thanks, Cheri!)
And yet…and yet…$$$ !!!
SO! Just in time for Thanksgiving leftovers, here are some ideas for getting 3+ meals out of ONE chicken! Obviously, these same ideas work for turkey - just substitute turkey for chicken. Easy-peasy. But I’m your Local Chicken Lady, and I know some will be serving a juicy roast chicken for Thanksgiving next weekend!
Here we go:
1) Start with Easy Holiday Party Roast Chicken and Creamy Gravy. Crispy skin, moist, tender chicken, and a creamy gravy over all. You’ll get THOSE family-favorite recipes when you come out to The Cluckery THIS Saturday, to pick up your holiday-sized chickens.
(Reserve yours here!)
2) After dinner, dice up the leftovers and stick them in the fridge. Don’t pick the bones clean, because you’re going to make a batch of Chicken Frame Soup. You guys, I make this every year. It’s perfect for using up leftover baggies of veggies in the fridge or freezer, and it’s sort of a relief to the body after the day(s) of feasting and heavy carbs. It’s so versatile, too…leave out the tomatoes, substitute veggies of choice…
Chicken or Turkey Frame Soup - YES, THE RECIPE SAYS TO DISCARD THE SOLIDS, BUT HOLD ON TO THOSE BONES FOR A BIT LONGER! READ ON…
3) And, of course, there are the sandwiches, lovely sandwiches. That chicken you diced up and put in the fridge? My son Nick is always so happy when there’s a big pile of cooked chicken in the fridge. “It’s delicious and nutritious, full of protein…” says he. He heats the meat up in a saucepan with BBQ sauce and mustard while he crisps some thick-sliced homemade sourdough bread, spread with butter and layered with cheese, on the griddle. Then he puts it all together - I’m not sure how he gets his mouth around all that, but he manages!
Chilled, gelled chicken stock…the basis of my nutritious kitchen!
4) Oh, wait. Did you think we were finished with those bones from the soup? The recipe says to discard them…But do you have any idea how much nutrition is left in the bones after only a couple hours of simmering?
Put those bones right back into a stock pot. Cover them with water - and add some chicken feet, if you’re lucky enough to have some, for extra nutrition. Throw in an onion and some carrots - amounts are up to you - perhaps a head of garlic cut in half cross-wise, some peppercorns, and some celery.
Bring it up to a bare simmer and let it JUST barely simmer for anywhere from 12-24 hours.
Strain and discard your solids (yes, really, this time), let the broth cool, and freeze it in freezer-safe cartons.
You’ve just made chicken broth/stock that’s not even a close cousin to the grocery-store stuff! And THAT will become the basis of several MORE meals! We’re talking soups, sauces, gravies.
5) And when you start feeling heavy and sluggish after all the parties and feasting of the next couple months, start your mornings by sipping a hot, salted cup of that nourishing broth. Your body will breathe a sigh of relief.
Now it’s your turn! What’s YOUR favorite way s-t-r-e-t-c-h YOUR chicken? Let me know in the comments below!