How to Get 5 Meals Out of a Whole Chicken

This is a trick I learned from my mom... she is the master of stretching food to make it last. It is a skill that has really come in handy over the years. Growing up watching my mom figure out how to make our little budget feed up to 6 or 7 mouths at a time was inspirational to me. She often made things from scratch rather than buying premade items (tv dinners were never to be found in our home).

The first time she made a whole chicken last for 5 or so meals, I was flabbergasted, in awe. And the great thing is that it's really not that hard to do. But before we just jump in there are a couple things to note. Traditionally, as my mom would do it, the whole chicken would be on sale, always, therefor making it dirt cheap. That works well if budget is your number one concern, and it was when I was a kid. Now that we're doing a little bit better in the budget department, I have tried this with a whole organic chicken. It. Was. So. Good. The taste just isn't comparable... and neither are the prices. A cheap whole chicken can price at roughly $4-7, an organic chicken of the same weight can come in at $13. A big difference. However, even at 13 dollars, if spread over 5 meals (or so), it can total out at roughly $2.50 a meal which is still cheap.

Picture is from http://kennedysvictorygarden.blogspot.com

So, let's figure this out...

Meal #1- The Whole Chicken
While I was growing up, my mom prepared a chicken with lemon pepper rub and baked it in the oven. I can say that it was always delicious this way. The last time that I attempted a whole chicken, I applied a rub (see recipe below) and left it in the crockpot for about 7 hours. The meat was falling off the bone and the flavor was beyond belief. I absolutely loved it but one thing to note is that if you cook it to that point, it's going to shorten the life of the meat by  making it drier the longer it takes to use up.

My Rub Recipe

4 tsp. salt

2 tsp. paprika

1 tsp. cayenne pepper

1 tsp. onion powder

1 tsp. black pepper 

1 tsp. garlic powder

Meal #2- The Good Ol' Sandwich

Now, this one could be as simple as a chicken salad sandwich or sandwich in the style of Thanksgiving with alot of other leftovers piled on. I happen to really like it in a pita with greens (I like spinach), tomatoes and some kind of white dressing (gyro cucumber sauce is amazing for this).

Meal #3- Burritos or Fajitas

At this point, you're going to want to take all the chicken off the bone. I put some of it aside for soup and some I shred for burritos or fajitas. I love this meal because it's so simple. If you get enough veggies and other stuffs to put inside the tortillas, you don't even really have to cook any other sides.

Meal#4- Chicken Soup

In my house growing up it was always chicken noodle soup and my mom made the noodles from scratch. So yummy. It's still a recipe I use today (see below). The key to this chicken soup is to first boil all the bones from the whole chicken (you saved them right?) in a big pot, or slow cooker, with some salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder and/or cumin. You just let it cook with some water (alot of water) for as long as you can. Then you strain the bones and whatnot out until just stock is left. This is what you make your soup from. 

Homemade Noodles

1 c. flour

1 half egg shell water

1 egg

Pour the flour on a cutting board or (better) wax paper, make a little indentation in the center of the pile and then put the egg and water in the whole. Fold until thoroughly mixed. Then roll out into an ultra thin layer and then cut into strips with a knife or pizza cutter. You can store them or just drop them in water right away.

Meal#5- The Fun Part aka Using the Stock
So, the last meal (or two) is the fun part because this is where you use the rest of your stock. You can make chili, soup, rice pilaf or risotto. You can add it to mashed potatoes or cook veggies in it. It's pretty versatile and makes everything taste better.

So, there you have it, 5 or so meals from one chicken. And the only thing that went to waste were the bones.

I don't have many recipes for fajitas, chili, pilaf, etc. so if you have a good one you'd like to share, please leave it in the comments section below. If you liked this post, please take the time to subscribe.