Weekends are the time when most of us catch up around the house and prepare for another busy week. One activity I relish on the weekends is cooking meals that require a little more time than is allowed on a school night. A trick I've learned is to prepare a meal that will also provide ample leftovers or raw materials for another, quicker meal later in the week. Roasted chicken is a great place to start. Today I am roasting two chickens, rather than one. Tonight we will have roasted chicken, along with mashed potatoes and gravy, and oven-roasted vegetables. Tomorrow morning, I will start a pot of chicken stock made from the chicken bones. I will use that stock to prepare chicken vegetable soup for tomorrow's dinner, and save some of the stock and chicken to make a skillet, stove-top version of chicken pie on a work night. I imagine this could all be done in one day if I were super organized and had nothing else to do, but I will do it in stages this weekend as there are other things going on, and this meal plan actually stages quite nicely. Roasted Herbed Chicken I am roasting two chickens because they are "organic" and thus smaller than your conventional roaster. But, obviously, this could be done with one large roaster as well. Also, my two kids eat like grown men, or even more sometimes, so I cook in much larger quantities these days. Place chicken(s) on a roasting rack in a large roasting pan. Rub with olive oil. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and herbs of your choosing, or skip the herbs. Cut an onion in half and place in the carcass, along with several sprigs of fresh parsley. Put 1 cup of water in the bottom of the roasting pan. Cover and place in a 375 degree oven on the bottom rack. Cook according to size until done, approximately 1.5 hours for the two chickens I'm cooking today. While the chicken roasts, prepare mashed potatoes or other side dishes. Chop vegetables for roasting in the oven. Today I will use Brussels sprouts sliced in half, cauliflower florets, and broccoli florets. Spread in a single layer, sprinkle with a generous amount of olive oil, add salt and pepper and any other seasonings. Set aside. You'll find a more detailed blog entry on this here. When chicken is nearly done, remove lid from roasting pan and turn oven up to 400 degrees. Put the tray of vegetables in on the top rack, stirring/flipping them after about 10 minutes. They should be nice and brown and delicious after 20-30 minutes. Remove the chicken when it looks golden-brown and let rest. Prepare potatoes. To make great gluten-free gravy, I remove the chickens from the roasting pan, leaving the drippings behind. Place on medium-high heat. Add 1 tsp salt and bring to a boil. Mix 1 cup of water with 3 Tbsp corn starch in a bowl, then pour into drippings on stove. Whisk together, bring back to a boil, and you should find you have nicely thickened gravy. Preparing to Make Soup: After dinner, I clean all of the meat off of the chicken carcasses. I package it up and store it in the fridge. Then I take carcasses and place them back into the roasting pan, and put in the fridge as well. In the morning, I will use them to start a batch of chicken stock. The method I use is here. I like to let it simmer for 6 hours or so. After straining it, I put about 6 cups into a soup kettle, and put the rest into a jar to store in the fridge. Add 2 cups of chopped chicken, and whatever other vegetables you enjoy in chicken soup. I add green beans, carrots, and corn. In the last 20 minutes, I throw in a handful of rice noodles. Add salt and pepper to taste. Now you should have enough stock and meat leftover to make quick(er) stove-top chicken pot pie. And there you have it - 3 meals for 4 people from 2 chickens. Enjoy.
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AuthorI'm Emily. I currently work in online education management, but I also have a Masters degree in Nutritional Sciences (my true passion). In addition, I am a mom, cook, avid reader, novice gardener, and enjoy all kinds of outdoor activities. On my blog, you will find articles on food, fitness, weight management, and eating issues. ALL recipes on my blog are gluten-free. Many are low-carbohydrate. Most are grain free. Enjoy! Categories
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June 2019
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