Rubber Chicken (One Chicken, Three Dinners)

I know, I know, the title confuses you, but you can use one chicken to make 3 meals, you just didn't  know it.  Buy one whole chicken, wash and pat it dry.  Massage some salt and pepper onto the skin and place in a baking bag that has been sprinkled with some flour to prevent it sticking to the chicken and place this inside of your baking dish.  Check the package for directions as to how long and what temperature the bag will tolerate.  I generally bake it for 30 minutes at 350 degrees.  Serve this chicken to your family with the appropriate sides of your choice.  I use green beans, mashed potatoes, corn and homemade biscuits.

After dinner, do not throw away any part of the chicken, even keeping the bones.  De-bone the rest of the meat and set it aside. Rinse off any bones that may have been eaten off of or gotten food on them from the plate. Now, put all the bones into a stock pot of water, chopped carrots, celery, onion, salt and pepper and bring it to a boil.  Boil this for 45 minutes to extract everything from the bones and the vegetables.  Now you have a homemade chicken and vegetable broth.  Allow to cool, strain it into another pot (or storage container) to remove the bones and cooked veggies, then place in the fridge until ready to use.  If planning to use it at a later date, place it into a freezer container and freeze until ready to use.

For dinner the next night, use the chicken meat that you set aside and make a casserole or any other dish that uses chicken meat only.  A casserole is simple to make using the meat along with a cream of * soup and a box of stuffing.  The cream of * soup can be any that your family prefers, I like to use cream of chicken, onion or potato.  Layer the meat in the bottom of your baking dish, mix the cream of soup according the the directions and pour it over the chicken spreading it out evenly, now top it with the cooked stuffing mix and baking it in the oven for 20 minutes at 375, until it has time to heat and cook through.  Serve this with sides of your choice, I use the left over vegetables from the night before.

Now you may use this broth to prepare any type of soup of your choice.  I like to use it to flavor rice or to cook with orzo for a quick chicken soup when someone it ailing and just needs some nourishment.  I have also used this to make some chicken and dumplings.  The possibilities are endless.

An alternative to boiling just the bones after dinner,  you can boil the entire chicken along with the carrots, celery, onion, salt and pepper.  Strain this into another container and allow this to cool enough for you to handle the chicken, cut the chicken in half, placing it bone side down, into a baking dish on top of some sliced potatoes, onions and tomatoes and bake for 30 minutes at 375 or until the potatoes are done. This is how my husband prefers it.  Still de-bone the rest of the chicken after dinner to use for dinner the next night.

What you need to have:
1 whole chicken
1 baking bag
1 bunch of carrots
1 bunch of celery
1 large onion
1 can of cream of *soup
1 box of stuffing mix
salt and pepper to taste

Alternate method also needs
1 large potato, sliced
1 large onion, sliced
1 large tomato, sliced