Whole chickens are often $.69/lb or so — a great deal. The Perdue brand even kindly bags the giblets so you don’t have to touch them to remove them! Here’s how we use one for several quick, easy meals:
Day 1: Rinse off the chicken and remove the inner “stuff.” Stick it in the crock pot and add kosher salt, pepper and garlic powder. Cook on low all day until it literally starts to fall off the bone. We eat the legs for dinner with some mashed potatos and green beans sauted with garlic. Save all the extra meat (we prefer this be mostly white, since it works better for the rest of the meals.)
Day 2: Take about 1/3 of the chicken and warm with some cumin to make chicken, black bean and rice burritos.
Day 3: Use the rest to make chicken salad (I make mine with finely diced onion and craisins or white raisins).
Whole chickens can be a fantastic value. (I was just thinking about this today as I blogged about Eating Well!) Here’s what we do:
Day 1: Put whole chicken in crock or stock pot (inners, too), add carrot, celery, onion, and garlic, and simmer for six+ hours. Remove chicken, and any veggies too mushy for your tastes, and save the carcass in the fridge. Add small pieces of diced chicken, diced new veggies, brown rice, and seasonings. Simmer for 30 minutes to an hour. Chicken Rice Soup–kids love it! You can even add diced innards without anyone noticing.
Day 2: Make stock with the carcass and carrots, celery, onion, etc. Simmer 6 – 24 hours. Discard bones and veggies. Eat chicken salad sandwiches for dinner.
Day 3: Chicken Mexican Something: Rice, Beans, & Chicken; Chicken Burritos/Enchiladas/Nachoes; etc.
Sounds like we do just about the same thing!
Wow- where are you getting chicken .69 cents a lb! The cheapest I have found here is $1/lb.
Great ideas though!
Kroger has it that cheap every other week — it was actually $.49/lb not too long ago!
If cooking the whole chicken is not your thing, you could also just use a rotisserie chicken — the ones from Sam’s Club are affordable and tasty.
$0.49/lb cents this week at Kroger…