Why Did The Chicken Cross The Road?

I seriously love cooking a whole chicken. I seriously do not love touching said chicken. I have an aversion to touching raw meat and so the whole process of getting the chicken ready to go is really not my favorite part of the process. Once that baby is cooked though, I love all the options I have of using the meat and bones. I used to just buy chicken parts (breasts, thighs, legs) separately, and sometimes still do, but for the most part I just buy a whole chicken and use it throughout the week in different recipes. It really simplifies the whole cooking process. Cooking a whole bird means only one mess for me to clean up and I have my chicken set for the week! We eat chicken about three times a week in different ways including soups, casseroles, salads, and just off the bone so I buy one chicken and it will usually last us three meals, depending on what I make. I pay around $5.50 for a whole chicken so that averages out to $2.75 for two meals and $1.83 for three meals for the meat. This is seriously SO CHEAP! Considering a pound of hamburger is around $3.30 ( I buy mine in bulk from our local locker for this price), the chicken is obviously a money saver! I always roast my chicken first and we eat it off the bone for supper the first night then use the leftover chicken in other recipes through out the week. Here's how I cook my chicken and how I make chicken broth.
Note-I am not the Pioneer Woman when it comes to food photography so please forgive me!

If your chicken is frozen, let it hang out in a bath of cool water to thaw

 Gather up some spices and carrots,onions,and celery

 Grab some sort of fat to slather your bird in. I prefer coconut oil because it can be used at a higher temp

 Stuff the chicken with onion, carrots, and celery and lightly coat it with the oil. Sprinkle with garlic powder, salt, pepper, and italian seasoning. Place in a 375 degree oven for 1 hour 45 min-2 hours until it is golden brown and the juices run clear.

 Serve it up to your fam right off the bone. I decided to serve mine with baked potatoes, roasted broccoli, and fruit salad

 I didn't notice until I already had this picture on here but whatever is hanging out of that thing does not look very appetizing! 

 G enjoying his supper

 O is a big fan of chicken

Now when we are all done with the roasted chicken for the night, I pick the rest of the meat off the carcass and put it in a container in the fridge to use later in the week (sometimes I will also freeze it if I won't be using it soon) and save the chicken carcass and all the veggies I stuffed it with.

 Pretty self explanatory. The meat separated from the carcass

Throw all the bones and veggies in your crock pot

 Grab some of this broth base (or any brand you prefer) and add a tablespoon or so to the crock pot

 Fill with water (I always use filtered water) and a splash of apple cider vinegar (it helps to leach the vitamins and minerals from the bones) to cover the chicken carcass (I usually just fill my crock pot to within an inch or two of the top, this was taken while I was waiting for more water to filter). Let this cook on low for 12-24 hours (overnight works great) 

 Strain the bones and veggies out of the broth. I got three quarts of broth from this! You can now store this in the refrigerator or freezer to use in any recipe that calls for chicken broth. I love making homemade soups and homemade cream of chicken to use in casseroles. Today I took it straight out of the crock pot and made some chicken noodle soup. Both of my sweet boys have been fighting a runny nose and cough so I thought some homemade chicken noodle soup would be a good lunch for them. Here's how I made it.

 Grab some onion, carrots, and celery

 Make sure you have a cute assistant to try the veggies to make sure they are good

 He approves

 Cut up the veggies into bite size pieces

 Fill a soup pot with 2 1/2 quarts of your chicken broth and add the veggies. Allow this to simmer for 30 min to 1 hr

 Here's where you get to use your leftover chicken! Chop it up and add it to the pot.

 Add the chicken and your favorite egg noodle. I love the amish egg noodles but I didn't have any on hand so I used Healthy Harvest 100% Whole Wheat Egg Noodles. I also added a few more teaspoons of the broth base that I used when making my chicken broth.

 Stir it all up and let it simmer until the noodles are done cooking.

 See, I still have chicken left over to use in another meal!

 Serve it up and enjoy!

 I served our soup with some apple slices. I get real gourmet let me tell ya!

 O ate all the pieces of chicken, noodle, and veggies on his own and I spoon fed him the broth. A 10 month old and broth do not mix if left on their own!

 Can you tell he wasn't in the mood to have his picture taken today?

Drinking up all that yummy goodness!

I really enjoy cooking for my family but I love when I can simplify meal time and use something I only have to prepare once in many meals throughout the week. As for the rest of the chicken, I can use it in casseroles, quesadillas, or chicken salad sandwiches (one of our favorites). It's so versatile and so is the broth. For less than six bucks you can't beat getting three meals and three quarts of broth! If you are a busy working wife/mom who feels like it's hard to get a home cooked meal on the table after coming home from work or a busy stay at home mom who just wants to simplify cooking through out the week, I would absolutely recommend taking one evening to cook up your chicken and use it through out the week to feed your family!