Learn to Make a Chicken

My family situation has changed dramatically in the last five years as children have moved out and are fending for themselves. When my oldest son moved to Los Angeles,he figured he could survive on Ramen noodles (yech!) on the cheap. Yes, they were cheap, but certainly not healthy and a steady diet was becoming monotonous. A room mate decided she was going to help him out by teaching him to make a chicken. Bless Miranda! Even at age 21, she had the right idea. So here are some thoughts on chicken making. If you roast a chicken, you have a very nice dinner and leftovers. Leftovers turn into a variety of meals such as chicken in a white sauce, chicken casserole, chicken tostadas, Caesar salad with chicken etc. For a 6-7 pound chicken, 1-2 meals for 4 are possible from the leftovers. AND...don't forget about the rest of the chicken. Homemade chicken stock from the carcass is a thousand percent better tasting than from a can. Making a stock is not rocket science. You add water to cover the bones in a large pot with a stalk of celery, a chunked carrot and a half onion. Bring it to a simmer and let it go for an hour or two. Strain out all the bones and vegetables and what you have left is chicken stock; a very healthy, homemade delicious base for soups. You can even freeze the stock, (or the carcass for that matter) for another time. So, from Miranda's chicken, we have a fancy weekend meal, two 'leftover' meals and a big pot of soup! Certainly better than Ramen noodles and probably less expensive.

Marty