I am perusing through the new grocery add and while groceries are becoming increasingly more expensive as the days go on… I though I would write about the beauty of the whole chicken.
It was years into my adult hood that I finally tackled the whole chicken. I literally thought it was massively complicated. It couldn’t possibly be as easy as rubbing some olive oil on it and slapping a little salt and pepper on it and calling it good as I threw it in the oven… Right?
There had to be something far more complicated in the whole ordeal then that!
But here is the deal… There really isn’t!
It is actually THAT easy!
And the benefits I get out of one whole chicken.. is mind blowing! Like, saving money, entirely mind blowing! So follow along my journey into the life of one dead whole grocery store chicken.
I used to buy them regular price for .79 a pound. But, that is now an unheard of sale price. And I remember .49 a pound being a buy now price. Today, the sale price is .99 a pound in my area and that is a steal of a deal. Considering some states don’t even have chicken in the supermarkets.
Literally, there is no chicken in some supermarkets. So lets use every bit we can with it.
Inside the bird usually comes a small bag of giblets. You can do what you want with those. If it has the neck then save that. The other stuff is your choice.
I know, you are freaking out on touching the thing and looking inside of it. Just keep going. It gets easier. Pretty soon you will be bouncing it in the sink as you make it sing ‘winner winner chicken dinner’ as you family confirms you’re crazy.
Just me? I doubt it.
For me, I slather it with olive oil and salt and pepper, place the wings behind it’s head as if it is sitting on the beach relaxing, and throw it in the oven. You can see all the times and instructions for this in many online recipes.
The following meals are for a family of 2. Because we are… a family of 2 now. So alter it for you. We also portion control our meals… because, well, I work hard at not being totally overweight and portioning our meals from the start, helps me NOT to overeat, and helps me have enough food for other meals. So here we go.. The oven timer has beeped….
Dinner #1
Cut chicken breasts off and serve for dinner. Add fried potatoes or some rice and some veggies.. This meal literally costs you a few dollars.
Dinner #2
Cut off the drumsticks and wings and serve with the same as above. And this meal is cheaper then #1 if you are using leftovers.
Dinner #3 (if you don’t have time to do this… throw the entire carcass in the freezer till you do. Don’t forget to add the neck to this part. Trust me.. Don’t throw this out. That carcass in my house is worth over 30.00!!)
Throw the entire carcass into a LARGE pot of water and bring to a boil. low simmer for the day or several hours. Before dinner make some homemade flour tortillas (Cost is about 60 cents for about 18 tortillas). strain the hot priceless broth, saving the bones and meat in a separate bowl from the broth. Put the broth aside. Pick through the meat and throw the bones away. There is usually enough extra meat for a taco night and a 4th meal. Grab the left over rice and veggies if there are any and serve it as tacos or burrito.
Dinner #3 is actually my favorite. Especially if I add some taco seasoning to the chicken meat.
Dinner #4
This is where I veer… Depending on how much meat was left over… I either have another Taco night … Or I make a soup with some of the broth adding some frozen or canned veggies and such rice or noodles and beans of some sort. Adding beans to the mix brings in more protein and complements the chicken.
I was always so scared of soups. I literally only cooked what I could bring out of the freezer and heat up.. You know those dinner in a bag meals? That was my specialty!
I am actually ashamed to admit I didn’t know how to really cook till much later in life.
Convenience was literally my friend…. Or so I thought. I actually look back and realize I paid handsomely for that convenience. Not anymore!
You will have broth left over. You either freeze it… or can it.. or use it within 5 days of making it. That’s my rule, yours can be different. That broth you have sitting there is pure GOLD! It is better then any broth you can find in the store, hands down. I either make a soup or stew with it, use it in place of water when making rice, or can it up in the pressure canner and put it on the shelf for when a recipe calls for some.
Meaning I no longer buy chicken broth of any kind. Those little cubes of bullion… nope… Cartons of broth? Nope… This stuff I just made from trash bones from my chicken has now just paid me a dividend.
The beauty of this sale is you can buy 2. (I know I hate rations.. I mean limits) So buy one for tonight and one for the freezer for a few weeks out.
Once your family smells the fresh out of the oven of a roasted chicken… it just is such a warm and fuzzy smell. To me that is. I do however, see the smile on my mans face when he walks through the door and smells it cooking. It’s a good old fashioned warm loving home smile! And I cherish that smile.
This is just one of the sales I hope to get this week… If you haven’t tackled the whole chicken.. please, don’t wait to try this. It truly is such a cheap way to eat. I will admit, the first few times I cut up a chicken it looked like I slaughtered it with a chain saw and threw it out for the wolves to finish. It was still delicious! But the more I did it… I got the hang of it. And my family never laughed at me or made fun of me. They were proud of me for trying to make meals cheaper and healthier. So rest assured…. just like I did… You will also.. learn the beauty of Roasting a Whole Chicken!
Ok, and here is the old fashioned name.. whole fryer… don’t be put off by the name.. whole fryer and whole chicken are the same thing.
The Bettencourt's 