How One Little Chicken Went So Far

Cook one whole Perdue Oven Roaster Chicken on a Monday or Tuesday and have your meals done for the week!  It is amazing that one little chicken can feed two people so many times.

Tuesday -

Carved Chicken with Gravy, Mashed Potatoes and Corn (Dinner) - My husband was so impressed by this meal that he said "Wow, you really went all out"... little did he know that it was one of the easiest meals I've ever made!  First I roasted the chicken, just removed the outer bag and popped in the oven! Since it takes at least an hour and a half...I even left him to "watch" it while I went grocery shopping. Then, I cheated with the Mashed Potatoes... I used boxed Mashed Potatoes, boil water, add milk and 'potatoes', stir and done.  Corn was easy, put in boiling water, done.  The gravy was probably the only complicated part.  Make a rue, add milk and the drippings from the chicken, season (I used salt, pepper, thyme and basil), cook until thick (it made a lot of gravy so I saved it as well for Thursday's meal).

Wednesday -

Chicken Sandwiches (Lunch) - Leftover chicken sandwiches for lunch for my husband and I for lunch.  I like to make a "healthier" version of a chicken salad sandwich....Chicken, Onion, Corn (leftover from Tuesday's Dinner), and Guacamole (I use one of the 100 calorie packs from Wholly Guacamole, now while probably not lower in fat than mayo, guacamole is packed with more nutritious things like Vitamin E, folic acid and a natural antioxidants.  Guacamole is high in monounsaturated fat; there are many health benefits associated with monounsaturated fat associated with blood cholesterol, cancer and diabetes.) then put that on bread with a slice of provolone cheese and done.  I don't know how my husband made his but probably went something like... bread, chicken...done! And he somehow always seems to make a huge mess!

Thursday -

Chicken Pot Pie (Dinner) - Start by sauteing onion and garlic in some olive oil, then add diced leftover chicken and vegetables and heat.  I warmed up my gravy from Tuesday in a separate pot, added a bit more milk to the gravy mixture and then simmered it until it thicken a bit more.  Then I poured it over the chicken and vegetables, added some thyme and pepper and brought it to a boil.  Pre-heat the oven to 425 degrees, pour the chicken mixture into a baking dish and cover with pre-packaged croissant rolls.  Bake according to the croissant package, about 12-15 minutes or until the croissants are golden brown.  Then serve!

Chicken Noodle Soup (Lunches/Dinners) - This was the last use for the chicken, first I took the chicken carcass (I couldn't think of a better word for it, sorry!), and simmered it in water with some seasonings (salt, pepper, thyme, basil) for about 2 hours.  Then I strained the stock and put the liquid back in the pot, added some more water and egg noodles.  While the egg noodles where cooking, I diced up the last of the chicken, added that and some vegetables.  I let the soup cool once the noodles were done, and divided it up into some Tupperware and refrigerated it overnight.  Then I froze it for future lunches and dinners :)

I rocked that chicken :) So I got 2 dinners and several lunches out of one small chicken!

Couponing

The whole couponing craze is not a new concept to me, my mother clipped coupons when I was growing up.  With the airing of Extreme Couponers, it has now become a very popular thing to do. And why not, who doesn't love saving money?! However, the Extreme Couponing shown on TV is not always the the best way to go, who needs to stockpile hundreds of cans of cat food and diapers when you don't have a cat or a kid (which I've seen people do on the show)?  They better be donating those to local animal shelters and women/children shelters!

My philosophy on couponing is "don't buy it if you don't like it or need it, even if you have a coupon".  Just because you have a coupon for something, shouldn't mean you should buy it.  I will try something once if I have a coupon (and it makes it under $2), but if I don't like it, I won't buy it again. I also don't buy a hundred of them, because it would take my husband and I longer to go through that much food then the food is good for.  I often wonder how much those people on TV throw out because the food is past its expiration date.  Like seriously how long would it take you to finish 200 boxes of cereal, probably more than a year and by then the cereal is stale.

This also applies to things like restaurant coupons, I don't go out to a restaurant because I have a coupon, but it's a bonus when I do!  So I clip those restaurant coupons and always carry them with me in my purse, so if my husband and I decide to go to dinner, I look and see if I have a coupon for it!

All in moderation and logical thinking!