Resourceful - making my own chicken stock!

A few weeks ago I decided that instead of buying a roast chicken at the grocery store almost every week I was going to make my own and really maximize the bird... We use roast chicken a lot - to make Jody's Pot Pie (yum!), to make meals for Baby F, to make delicious dishes like Nikki's Green Chili Soup, and other quick weeknight meals. Last week I decided to go one step further and use the chicken carcass to make my own stock. I know people who have done this - but it was my very first try.

I followed a basic recipe that I had from a baby food book, but embellished a little and made use of what I had in the fridge.

I started with the picked over chicken carcass. Yum (not.)

I added some veggies - including onion, carrots and celery. TIP: I had some leftover baby carrots and celery from a veggie platter we had at a party a few days before. They were perfect! I had very little prep work to do.

Finally, I added water and some seasonings, cranked the pot up to a boil then down to a simmer for 3-4 hours.

If you know me - you know that I sometimes get these great ideas late in the day - so as it got closer to bed time I decided to move my stock into the Crock Pot and let it stew overnight.

Here's what it looked like in the morning!

In the morning I used some cheesecloth and a strainer to remove all veggies and chicken bones/parts from the stock and then portioned the stock into baggies measured at one and two cup measures. I have since used a few portions and I have to say - it's tasty! I've backed off of roasting one chicken per week (it was a little excessive...), but I will definitely make good use of the next chicken I roast - and for about $6-7 per bird I'm getting several meals and about eight to ten cups of stock! Pretty good deal, if I do say so myself.

Delicious Dish: Chicken Salad

Photo credit: lexandlearn.blogspot.com

Tonight I made Chicken Salad With Apricots and Almonds from Whole Living Magazine for dinner. It was my first time poaching chicken and it was SO easy and fast! I am going to have to do it again... maybe tomorrow as I now have two chicken breasts sitting in the fridge waiting for an assignment. I doubled the recipe and we have some leftovers. I loved the fact that with chicken and Greek yogurt the protein content of this salad is really high and the apricots added just enough sweet, and the almonds made for a great little crunch. I even used fresh chives from our garden! Glad those pop up early in the season.

I learned about this recipe from my dear friend Alexis over at Lex And Learn and I have all the fixin's to make the slow cooker meal she suggested, too! I'm thinking that's on Sunday's menu. Stay tuned for a review!

So Yummy - And "Lentil" On Your Wallet

Okay - so it's a geeky take on "gentle", but this soup was absolutely delicious and really affordable, so I had to share the recipe! I used the leftover ham bone from our Christmas feast and made some corn bread to serve with the soup which was the perfect complement.

This is the first time I've cooked with lentils and had no idea about their outstanding nutritional value until I saw the signage at Whole Foods. I think I'll be looking for more lentil recipes in the coming weeks! Have any to share?