Round 2 Dinners

I love it when I can take a meal or some ingredients and stretch it into 2 or even 3 different meals. Tonight's meal was such a collaboration of leftovers that I just had to share. A couple years ago, I learned how to take a whole chicken and use it for several meals. When whole chickens were on sale a couple of weeks ago I was really excited, because at .57 cents a pound - using it for more than one meal really stretches your dollar.

So, a few days ago, I roasted a whole chicken. It is so easy and there are lots of different ways to change the flavor. This time I put some quartered lemons in the center and the last 20 minutes, I basted with BBQ sauce. Slice it up, cut off the drumsticks, add some potatoes and veggies, and you've got a great meal. So, don't be afraid of those whole chickens that are way cheaper than buying boneless, skinless chicken breasts.

Tonight I made chicken broth with the leftover bones. The chicken still had lots of meat on it (sometimes I will take off the meat and use it for another meal), so the broth was really flavorful. After the broth was done (and I removed the bones :)), I added carrots, celery, onions, and all the chicken meat. I was looking in the fridge and found some leftover green beans and rice (from a different meal - this probably would have gone to waste if I hadn't used it tonight). I threw that in, along with some egg noodles. It made for a really hearty soup. Then I took some hamburger buns (left over from yet another meal - those would have just gone stale or moldy), spread them with softened butter and sprinkled them with Parmesan cheese. I put them under the broiler for a few minutes and we had some yummy "Parmesan bread".


I pulled things from 3 separate meals to make a different meal that didn't feel like leftovers. I love it when that happens - especially when we can top it off with some free ice cream...