Whole chickens were on sale this past week for $0.67 a pound. Time to stock up on chicken!
We make a lot of homemade chicken stock around here because it's very healing to the gut lining. Every weekend I cook at least two chickens. Sometimes I roast the chickens first, other times I boil them.
Roasting Your Chicken
Roasting is simple: Remove the chicken from the bag, and remove the liver, gizzard and heart from the inside of the chicken. Rinse the chicken, then place into a casserole dish. Pat the chicken dry, and coat with some melted butter, salt and pepper. Bake at 350°F for 20 minutes per pound. Test for doneness by pulling the leg away from the body to observe the fluids there, or test with a thermometer to 180°F in the thigh, 170°F in the breast, or check this site for a discussion on cooking to a lower temperature. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for a while. It helps to use tongs once you begin to remove the meat.
Once you have all the meat removed, throw the bones, skin, all the soft bits and the fluids in the pan into a larger pot with six cups of water. Bring to a slow boil with a lid and allow to cook slowly for 3-4 hours for some great broth.
Boiling Your Chicken
If you want to start out boiling the chicken, place the bird into the pot, pour in 6 cups water (or until the chicken is covered with water), bring to a boil for one hour. Remove from heat and allow to sit for thirty minutes. Remove the chicken from the broth and remove the meat.
Okay, now you have your chicken meat all ready to do something good with it.
The most popular way to use up chicken around here is to turn right around and put it back into the soup pot.
Chicken Soup
- 6 cups chicken stock
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 3 ribs celery, chopped
- 2 carrots, sliced
- 1/2 head of cabbage, chopped
- 3 green onions, chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- Chicken from one of the methods above
Put the chicken stock into a pot, add the vegetables or any other that you enjoy. Bring to a boil and simmer for 20 minutes or until all vegetables are done. You can add in the meat now, or individually for each person. I prefer to add my chicken individually. If you like noodles or macaroni, cook separately and drain, then add to the soup. Delicious!
Chicken Salad Sandwiches
- 2 cups chopped chicken
- 1/2 onion, chopped
- 1 carrot, shredded
- 10 pickles, diced
- 1 rib celery, diced
- 4 Tablespoons Mayonnaise
- 1/2 head lettuce, shredded
- Salt and Pepper to taste
- Bread, plain or toasted
Place all the ingredients into a bowl and mix. Add more mayonnaise if desired. Pickle juice can give a nice flavor and also will make the salad more moist, or a dash of lemon juice works. This recipe is just like tuna salad but you use chicken. If you prefer a sweet taste, use sweet pickle relish and Miracle Whip.
You can also eat this salad just as salad, without using any bread. 🙂
Chicken Salad
- 1 head lettuce
- 2 cups chicken, diced
- 1 cup grapes, red preferably, cut in half
- 1 cucumber, quartered and sliced
- 1 can whole black olives
- Homemade Ranch Dressing
This is one of my favorite salads ever. The grapes add the perfect compliment to the flavor. We also like to use barbecued chicken for this recipe. Just toss everything together and voila! Dinner is served!
Chicken Tacos
- 2 cups chicken, chopped
- 1 onion, chopped (divided into two portions)
- 1 Tablespoon mild chili powder
- 1 Tablespoon butter
- 1/4 head lettuce
- Taco shells hard, or soft shells warmed in a skillet
- Cheddar cheese, shredded, optional
- Sour cream or yogurt, optional
- Tomatoes, optional
- Black Olives, optional
- Fresh Salsa
Melt butter in a skillet and saute 1/2 of the onion until transparent. Mix in the chili powder. Since the chicken is already cooked, you just want to heat it up, no need to cook it. Once the onion is done and you've mixed in the chili powder, place the chicken in the pan and mix with the onions and chili powder. Salt and pepper to taste. Leave the skillet on low and put a lid on the pan and allow the chicken to slowly heat while you wash and chop all the other ingredients.
When the chicken is warm, place in the taco shells and decorate with lettuce, tomatoes, cheese, sour cream and salsa, or any of your favorite ingredients.
Do you stock up on chicken when it goes on sale for a great price like this? What is your favorite way to eat it?
I like to pick it up at Ranch Market…isn’t there one over in your part of town? Their prices are routinely fairly cheap.
If I have a whole chicken, I usually make chicken stock out of that after the meat is gone. If I’m getting parts, I drop the bones into a ziplock bag in the freezer until such time as enough have accrued to turn into stock. You can add beef bones, too.
BTW, one nice thing I stumbled upon: If you use some or all of your old stock (defrost, if necessary) to help make the new brew, you get a wonderful, rich stock. Yum! After the stock’s made, just add some veggies and rice, and you’ve got an awesome soup.
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I use my slow cooker to make stock. This way, I do not have to watch it on the stove.
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We buy a lot of whole chickens; we prefer the pricier organic ones, as they don’t produce the odor when roasting that regular ones do.
For the 2 of us, we’ll usually roast it (I only use citrus juice or a mild vinegar. I roast it on a rack in the pan so I can put about a half inch of water in the pan to reduce splattering & smoking), then eat cold chicken, chicken salad, chicken sandwiches, etc. Chicken enchiladas are easy too. I’ll boil it if I know I want to make soup/dumplings/salad instead of eating the pieces. I’m lucky that the DH will eat all the odd pieces (back, neck, innards) so we don’t waste anything. We normally get at least 4 full meals & a lunch or two off one good-sized chicken. FlyLady’s website has a great ‘rubber chicken’ recipe for getting a bunch of meals off one chicken.
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