How to Strrrreeeetcchhh a Chicken

No, I am not talking about the classic rubber chicken.  Since I quit my job over eight months ago, I’ve been trying to focus on a bit of penny-pinching, while not compromising on the quality or sources of our meals.  Sometimes this takes some ingenuity; sometimes it just takes being willing to eat a bit more simply.  When I defrost two packages of leg quarters of chicken, I try to make a plan how the meat can be used for multiple meals.  It helps, of course, that we’re only three, and although one of us is a growing child, still eats relatively small portions for dinner.  So our four Triple S chicken leg quarters—specifically, four thighs and four legs—can be stretched to use for three meals.  And, hey, now that keeping chickens in the yard is legal in our small city, some of you may be even more interested in more chicken recipe ideas...

Meal One

I baked the leg quarters in a leftover three-quarters-full jar of green salsa.  Most of the salsa ended up on the skin, but it did flavor the meat enough to give a little kick.  I paired this with steamed farmer’s market green beans that I had frozen this summer.  They were bright and beautiful.  My son eats his with ketchup.  My husband complements everything with a country grain bread from our local bakery.  We each had either a leg or a thigh.

Meal Two

Some mushrooms were crying out to be used (unfortunately, not my favorite local oyster mushrooms, but these were organic criminis), so I sliced those up.  I started with a half-pound of Triple S uncured bacon, sliced into ½-inch thick-cut pieces, and thrown into my giant cast iron frying pan.  When it was almost done, I chopped a Claybank Farms onion and threw it in.  When it became translucent, I added the deboned and chopped leftover chicken.  A few more minutes and I could add the mushrooms.  The chopped green beans were then ready to be thrown in, and I kept it stirring until everything was really hot.  This dish—a sort of unnamed hash—was an unmitigated success with the 10-year-old due to the presence of bacon.  There are even a bit of leftovers for my lunch tomorrow.

Meal Three

While my hash/stir-fry was cooking, I slipped the bones and skin (with green salsa remnants) into a stock pot and covered it with water.  It’s simmering on the stove even as I write this.  Tomorrow night will be vegetable soup with whatever else is clamoring for attention from my vegetable drawer in a slightly-peppery chicken stock.  Soup is with out a doubt the perfect antidote for a cold night.

Look at that gorgeous stock simmering!

Buying organic, pasture-raised meat directly from the farm is not cheap.  Two packages of leg quarters were around $7.50, even with my buying club discount.  But if I can make three meals out of them, the cost evens out considerably (and the bacon didn’t add that much to the total).  And I have the confidence to know that we are eating responsibly grown, tasty, and nutritious food.