A Tale of Three Chickens 2by Mary Ann Romans | More from this Blogger 15 Oct 2008 04:59 PM
Chicken number one got roasted on Monday, along with some onions and part of the large amount of carrots on which I also got a good deal. On Tuesday, I placed chicken number two in the crock pot to cook on low all day, while I simmered the bones from chicken number one in the stock pot. The crock pot chicken just fell off of the bones, making it so easy to divide. Chickens numbered one and two got married in the form of that night's very hearty chicken noodle soup. The stock from chicken one along with the dark meat of chicken two. The rest of chicken two got cubed and frozen in two cup portions in my refrigerator's bottom freezer. It yielded eight cups of white meat that are happily (I think they were smiling at me up until the time I sealed the freezer bag up by sucking out the air with a straw) tucked away for future dinners, such as enchilada casserole, chicken pot pies, chicken salad, chicken and pasta, chicken fried rice and more. On Wednesday, we will have the leftovers from chicken number two and the soups for lunch. Thursday I will make something different to break from chicken, maybe a vegetarian chili, for example. Then Friday will be chicken number three's turn. Mweeehahahah (evil laugh inserted here). I may cook it up and assemble it into individual freezer meals that I can lay flat in my bottom freezer, or just cut it up into more cooked chicken for the freezer. If I roast it, the drippings will make gravy. I'm pretty open, so do you have any suggestions? I may save some little bit of the chicken as a topping for homemade Friday night pizza (BBQ chicken pizza anyone?). Of course, the bones from chicken number two and chicken number three will also make stock. I can freeze this flat by inserting a freezer bag into a large aluminum can for support, filling the bag and then sealing it tightly. Or, I could use the muffin pan trick. It helps to measure out the stock into cups, so you know exactly how much you have on hand. Click here for more articles by Mary Ann Romans. Don't Throw that Food Out! Ways to Save Food Gone Wrong Whole Turkey Versus Turkey Breasts: Cost Comparison Is That A Chicken in Your Pocket?
Just look to the right of this blog and find the subscription center (it looks just like this picture, although you'll have to find the "real" one just above the category listing ). Click on "Subscribe via Email". You'll be instantly subscribed and the email address that you registered at Families.com with will receive an instant notification whenever we post a new Frugal Living Blog! Don't miss a thing - subscribe now! Learn more about Mary Ann Romans  Mary Ann Romans is a freelance writer and mother of three children. She lives in Pennsylvania with her husband, the kids and a 16-pound cat. Relevantfrugal tags User Comments marinemom8 (125) 16 Oct 2008 06:42 PMI think I might stew it with onions carrots and celery and a can of rotel and a couple of tablespoons of wine vinegar, then after about 2 hrs of gentle simmering, (in about 6 cups of water) I'd take the meat off the bones, put half back in the broth, cut up the other half and freeze when cool. To the chicken and broth I'd add a couple of cups of rice, depending on how soupy you want it, 3 cups makes it chicken and rice, 1 or 2 makes it more like soup, though when it is cooling the rice does tend to keep on expanding and soaking up the broth. Anyway, just a thought, I got this off the miserly moms website and it is so good. Oh, you can also add a cup of peas to the pot with the rice. Hope you enjoy it if you try it. Karen  Mary Ann Romans (26791) 16 Oct 2008 06:58 PMThanks so much Karen! What is Rotel? I'm afraid I haven't heard of it. marinemom8 (125) 29 Oct 2008 08:29 PMRotel comes in about a 10 oz can, it is tomatoes and chilies. You can get a knock off at walmart for about .68. It is can really add great flavor to your recipes.  deedee1231 (4030) 30 Oct 2008 08:41 AMI have made something like this before, but I have never tried adding vinegar to it. Sounds interesting, do you use white or red wine vinegar? Community Tags chicken, freezer meals, frugal meals, Food Discuss this article
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