chicken chicken chicken dinner

A few weeks ago, I took my good friend Dena shopping. We live in DC where it makes no sense to have a car. But I do. (Sense and I are rarely in sync)

Anyhow, me and the fam have been in a particularly tight budget situation lately and I had already done my meal planning on a strict budget based upon what we had in our pantry and freezer. So I had brought no bags, and planned to watch a movie with Dena after taking her grocery shopping. However, when I saw they had whole chickens at .79 a pound I had to recalibrate. So, I bought four. Four whole chickens. I spent $12.




I lugged these four whole chickens to Dena's, rearranged her freezer so they would fit, and 2 hours later lugged them home.

But the fun was just beginning. At home, I tossed 3 of them in the deep freezer and got to work on the fourth.

All trussed up with no where to go...but my oven!

I pulled the giblets and neck out of the cavity and set aside for stock. I washed and patted dry the entire bird and then salt and peppered the cavity and stuffed it with a quartered lemon, half of an onion, and a sliced garlic head. Then I gave it a nice olive oil massage and salt and peppered the outside, tucked the wings under, tied up the legs and put it in my trusty le creuset, (which I can't live without).

For the vegetable contingent of the meal, I chopped up big chunks of fennel, onion, carrots, celery, and potato and tossed them with a little olive oil, salt and pepper and poured around the bird and tucked it all away in a 425 degree oven.

About an hour and a half later the bird came out with a lovely brown and crispy skin. We ate the chicken and roasted vegetables with a large salad and there was entirely too much bird- -which was exactly what I was hoping for.


After dinner, I shredded the bird and divided the chicken into two portions, 2/3 of the leftovers for enchilada lasagna and 1/3 for chicken soup (the roommates and the Daddy were feeling under the weather).

The next day I prepped the enchilada lasagna and I made chicken stock.

simma down now.

For the stock, I threw the odds and ends of all the veggies I've tucked in the freezer over the past few weeks (onion ends, squeezed lemons, carrot tops and peels, etc.) and the chicken carcass, giblets, and neck into a pot. I turned on the water and went out to the garden to pick some herbs, rinsed them and put them in.

Eight hours later, I had a fantastic deeply colored stock. I let it cool, and put it in the fridge for the next day.

Meanwhile, the family enjoyed the enchilada lasagna. I use Alton Brown's recipe. It's killer- with layers of corn tortillas, shredded chicken, queso fresco, and enchilada sauce.

Unfortunately, it tends to be a little spicy for the kids, so it takes no time at all to make an extra dish for them where I layer everything without the enchilada sauce and pour chicken stock over the dish to keep it from becoming too dry. Then I cut theirs into triangles because it's a little more pliable and more like a quesadilla then the lasagna version.

 Herbs from my garden!

With two meals down, the next day it was time for Round 3.

I took the stock out of the fridge, and strained and skimmed off the fat (not much really) and put it on the stove. I tossed in some chopped carrots, potatoes, onions,  leftover chicken, and fresh herbs and let it go for about 40 minutes at which point I dumped in the leftover roasted vegetables from day one.  Gave it another 20 minutes tasted, adjusted the seasonings (it only needed a little pepper because the stock, roasted vegetables, and chicken had already been well seasoned) and served with homemade bread and a fresh salad from the garden.

The family was super happy and it really helped the colds. I was super happy that I'd fed 4 adults and 2 children for 3 days for under 30 dollars.

Approximate prices:

• Chicken $4
• Tortillas $2
• Potatoes, Onions, Carrots, Celery $8
• Enchilada Sauce- Tomato Sauce, Chipotle, Chicken stock, seasonings, $4
• Queso Fresco $5

P.S. For round two we had a dinner party, so there was substantially less chicken leftover, but it still stretched into two meals - roasted chicken and the old standby -chicken salad. Still pretty sweet. Can't wait to cook the last 2!