Large Chicken to X Dinners

lycan238

Hi folks I live alone and am looking to make a quantity of dinners from one large Chicken(1.9KG). I am looking for a few tips on how to make the large chicken last ie by making quiches, curries casseroles etc. Has anyone done this and if you have how did you get on?

Note to Mods: I hope this is ok to post if not let me know

porsche boy

Start off day 1 with a roast chicken dinner, get a bag of steamable veg or whatever for your side. You'll most likely use the breast meat.
Day 2, take the rest of the chicken off the carcass and use for a chicken curry or cassarole.
Day 3 would be maybe chicken volavaunts and maybe some sandwiches for lunch the next day.

ElleEm

Chicken fajitas with leftover chicken are great. They also use minimal ingredients. Fry up some peppers and onions and put them on a wrap with the sauce of your choice.

lazeedaisy

Use the carcass to make a chicken stock or chicken soup, I make a load and freeze it for lunches.

But initially, I put the chicken in the slow cooker, you can strip it easily, slice it and steam for chicken dinner wih some nice fresh veg, cheap at the moment,

Or take the leg off for a dinner and you can use one chicken breast for a curry,

Day 1; chicken leg and fresh veg
Day 2; chicken curry with one breast
Day 3; I make a chicken brest with tomatoes and peppers in the oven, a tin of tomatoes, add chopped onion, a red pepper, maybe mushrooms, throw in 2 potatoes and a little grated cheese.

Day 3 throw what's left including carcass and an onion into a stock pot, boil up, until all the chicken comes off the bone, wait until cool, strip chicken, then I either freeze the stock or make a chicken soup I freeze in individual portions for work lunches,

You could also freeze some of it sliced, in a curry sauce, it's always handy to have a chicken dinner in the freezer, or a chicken pie with mash and freeze,

There are so many variations depending on what you like, but you need to eat and or freeze by day 3.

lazeedaisy

I usually make 4 individual quiches and freeze them all, I see you are thinking quiche or casseroles....

The only thing with freezing casseroles or stews with potatoes is they are never the same when thawed, I tend to mush the potatoe if it's left over in these instances,

I bulk cook a lot, and make my own bread and always have half a loaf in the freezer with soup for a quick dinner.

lycan238

FAO Porsche boy: Hi I have a steamer that I can use I can boil potatoes in the water and steam veg above it. That's not a problem. I intend roasting the whole chicken then using what I don't eat that day to make other freezer friendly dishes. Will try using carcass for stock for casserole soup etc. Not sure about sandwiches but maybe wraps along with some lettuce tomato and mayo.

FAO ElleEm: Yes fajitas a good idea what seasoning do you use to make the fajitas to spice it up? Do you marinade the chicken in yoghurt or something first?

FAO lazeedaisy: Hi thanks for your suggestions. I don't add potatoes to casseroles or stews until I am ready to eat it. I reheat it in a saucepan instead of the microwave. Can you freeze quiche? I was thinking of making mini ones using egg cream milk onion and bacon medallions. I will make the pastry myself its quite easy to do. Do you make white or brown bread?

lazeedaisy

I make a brown soda bread,

Quiche can be frozen, either sliced large ones or individual ones.

I use the freezer a lot now, never used to until I worked in a cafe where sometimes the food was frozen if there was too much, they also used to freeze individual slices of gluten free bread.

I make batches of shepherds pie, fish pie, quiches, lasagne and it's great to have them.

We grow our own food, and when I get too much of anything, I freeze it too, or when supermarkets have really cheap veg I would bulk buy and freeze. I.e. mushrooms, there is always a bag of sliced mushrooms in the freezer, but you have to throw them into a very hot dry frying pan, you can't thaw them, As they go all slippy.

lycan238

lazeedaisy wrote: »

I make a brown soda bread,

Quiche can be frozen, either sliced large ones or individual ones.

I use the freezer a lot now, never used to until I worked in a cafe where sometimes the food was frozen if there was too much, they also used to freeze individual slices of gluten free bread.

I make batches of shepherds pie, fish pie, quiches, lasagne and it's great to have them.

We grow our own food, and when I get too much of anything, I freeze it too, or when supermarkets have really cheap veg I would bulk buy and freeze. I.e. mushrooms, there is always a bag of sliced mushrooms in the freezer, but you have to throw them into a very hot dry frying pan, you can't thaw them, As they go all slippy.

Cool I would love to be able to make my own bread but finding a nice easy beginners recipe is proving difficult. I mostly eat white bread and all of the recipes I have found all have yeast in them. I have a nice brown bread recipe I made at a course recently. Must buy a fridge freezer this year did not have the money for it when I got the house first even with the ENP.

Great news about quiche that can be frozen I have a nice big dish to make it in a square one so portions will be easier to cut. Should make the large chicken last into double figures for dinners. 12 would be the target.

lazeedaisy

On the freezer note, I bought mine off adverts... Took a while though.

I sent my hs band on a bread course, he loved it.

Good luck,

jluv

lazeedaisy wrote: »

I make a brown soda bread,

Quiche can be frozen, either sliced large ones or individual ones.

I use the freezer a lot now, never used to until I worked in a cafe where sometimes the food was frozen if there was too much, they also used to freeze individual slices of gluten free bread.

I make batches of shepherds pie, fish pie, quiches, lasagne and it's great to have them.

We grow our own food, and when I get too much of anything, I freeze it too, or when supermarkets have really cheap veg I would bulk buy and freeze. I.e. mushrooms, there is always a bag of sliced mushrooms in the freezer, but you have to throw them into a very hot dry frying pan, you can't thaw them, As they go all slippy.

Ah you've just made me so happy..I could live on mushrooms and they are on 49c in Aldi at the moment so happy freezing for me:D

rubadub

I sometimes cut one or both chicken breasts off, these can be cooked right away or frozen. Then roast the rest of the bird, which can be sectioned out to cook faster.

The breasts are usually a lot bigger than ones you get in "10 for 10euro" deals, so you might cut them up again into 3 or 4 portions.

Buying a larger chicken can be more economical if doing this, as there is usually a higher meat to bone ratio. I have gotten 350g fillets off large chickens, your typical "10 for 10" ones are 130g.

tonc76

I bought a poultry shears last year and have been buying whole chickens and cutting into breasts, legs and only using what I need. The shears are great for spacthcocking a chicken too which greatly reduces the cooking time.