we can stretch a chicken

[luckyleftyme2]

roast chicken then left overs:

chicken al la king
chicken pie (use left over stuffing,leftover mashed potatoes,chicken,peas and carrots,small amt of gravy)
chicken soup
so for $10 -$15 bucks you can get 5-6 meals for 2

[japple]

1. My mother could beat that! She could feed our family of

5 for a week with one 7 lb. chicken. Okay, maybe that's too much even for her, but she could stretch anything farther than anyone I ever knew, and you never felt like you were eating leftovers. She would always roast a chicken, then cook the bones and skin for broth. We would have sliced roasted chicken for a couple of meals, then she would make a pot of chicken and noodles, maybe a casserole, a pot of soup. I think her trick was in controlling the amount of meat. She would serve just a little, but there were always lots of vegetables, salad, usually a starch of some sort, and her fabulous desserts. Even though we didn't have a lot of money, we always ate extremely well.

[Warpy]

2. There are other possibilities

chicken tacos, especially stretched with a dollop of refried beans or bean salsa.

chicken salad, more veggies than chicken, just the way I like it. Throw in some halved peeled green grapes and some chopped nuts to make it really interesting.

chicken, broccoli, mushroom and water chestnut (or jicama or kohlrabi) stuffed crepes, a little cream sauce in the filling and a lot over the top, heat under the broiler until it's hot, bubbly, and starting to brown.

I can stretch a chicken to the breaking point, too. It's the one way I can justify those hideously expensive free range, organically grown chickens at the food co op once or twice a year. I just wish they'd sell the feet with them, makes the broth so much better.

[knitter4democracy]

3. We do that, too. Turkey on sale at the holidays does even more.

I was amazed at what-all we could get out of a turkey. Pot pies (several for easy dinners later), soup, several meals, and more. Crazy.

[pipoman]

4. You got me thinking about this now

I think if I were going to try to stretch a chicken for three different meals for 2 people I would do it something like this.

I don't usually like broth made with cooked chicken bones so I would cut up the chicken putting the back, neck, and wing tips to the side. I would split the breast and make one meal of baked boneless chicken breast and wild rice with some broccoli. Next I would make around 8 eggs/8 cups flour noodles rolled thin cut narrow. Then boil the legs, thighs, back, neck, and breast bone making a nice broth. I would use 1/2 the chicken, 1 cup of the broth and 1/3 of the noodles and make chicken tetrazzini and a veggie. I would use the rest of the broth and noodles to make chicken noodle soup and crusty bread. I think this could all be done for $12 or less. Of coarse there are many dishes which could be made instead of any of these.

[luckyleftyme2]

5. all great ideas

a way to freeze the soup; we place 1/2 of the stew or soup in quart freezer bags
place these in a plastic 1/2 gal. sherbet containers, after freezing remove bag
to free up the plastic container.
chicken and turkey can provide so many different dishes and many are pass downs from our families.
my favorite is chicken crock pot stew.
2 cups of diced chicken
12 baby carrots
4 potatoes med (peeled &cut in half)
pinch of sage,dash of italian seasoning
1 stick of celery (diced)
start with 2 cups of water
put all in crock pot when carrots and potatoes are done add gravy thicken cook
for 20 minutes then add dumplings (I use jiffy mix) cook till dumplings are done
usually another 20 min.(salt and pepper to your taste)
gravy should be real thick!(for me anyway)

[shireen]

6. plain roast chicken sandwiches

this is ridiculously simple and so delicious ....
- a really good fresh-baked loaf of bread from the deli (i like crusty italian or rustic country bread)
- salted butter
- pieces of roast chicken, scavenged from the carcass before you use it for chicken stock

That's it ... just plain roast chicken sandwiches using some really good fresh-baked bread. I love it!

[shireen]

7. roast chicken (or turkey) & potato hash

a friend suggested this for turkey leftovers ... it's perfect for those little bits of meat you get off the carcass before using it to make broth.

Mix chicken with mashed potatoes and gravy, season, form them into patties, and fry in some olive oil. You could do all sorts of variation on this, like using grated raw potatoes, or finely-diced potatoes, add leftover veggies like green beans. It's so good, and kids love it.