How Did the Chicken ....?

 

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   “I love chicken. I would eat chicken fingers on Thanksgiving if it were socially acceptable.”       Todd Barry

I do love chicken. Luckily, CH also loves chicken. No wonder we are so good together. Ha!

While eating a bowl of homemade chicken soup, I thought I would share my frugal (o.k., cheap) ways of stretching a roasted chicken into a few meals. I have done these with both a homemade roast chicken and a store-bought rotisserie chicken.

Because it is only CH and I sharing these meals I may get more out of the chicken than those who serve more. But, it is nice to review things like this if you are ever stuck with the question, “What am I going to cook for supper tonight?”

The first meal is the roast chicken, mashed potatoes, gravy and a vegetable. This absolutely is at the top of my all time favorites list!! I remove one breast and slice it. I do not use little chickens. The chicken is usually 6-7 pounds.

Another thing to know is that CH and I are retired so lunch at home is usual for us - even if we don’t eat it at the same time.

Second meal is open-face hot chicken sandwiches along with some tomato and lettuce. Easy, easy, easy. I always heat the gravy separately on the stove because putting it in the microwave on the chicken makes everything dry.

Third meal is chicken fried rice and stir-fry chicken. I use some of the other breast and some thigh meat. Another easy meal.

Fourth meal is chicken salad on rolls. I do a mix of dark and white meat because the combo boosts the flavor mix. A little celery, onion, dill and mayo and voila!

Fifth meal is soup. There are two ways that I approach this - the quick way and the traditional way. The quick way is cutting up veggies and the chicken meat that is remaining and putting it all in a pot with store-bought broth. The traditional way is taking as much meat off the carcass and cooking the carcass with veggies for the home made broth. I always season my soup with Bell’s Dressing - a seasoning mix made with thyme. Both taste great.

I have to tell you about my sister’s and my experience with Bell’s Dressing. We grew up watching my mum make stuffing using this seasoning. We knew no other way and used it for years and years until we both moved to this area in Florida. There was none to be found and the grocery stores had never heard of it. We hounded these stores to no avail. We had to have our kids bring it with them when they visited. “No excuses, bring the Bell’s Dressing!”

One day my sister had the brilliant idea to order directly from the manufacturer. She had to order a case of these little yellow boxes. No problem, she would not have to rely on anyone to supply it and she would share with me. To make a long story short, about a week after she received the package we found the Bell’s Dressing in two stores!! Anyone for stuffing?

Enjoy the weekend!