Rubber Chicken

HappyMJ

It's cheaper not having chicken at all but there are plenty of rubber chicken threads on here to have a look at if you must have chicken.

Riversong

It's not a matter of must but choice. Thank you for the heads up ill take a look around.

Lynsey

Riversong - this post may help reduce your chicken costs, if available and you have a Lidl near you.
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/52578809#Comment_52578809

Obvious meals like pasta, casseroles, pies, rice etc will bulk out the chicken and make it go further.

Good luck.

Lynsey

rachbc

I owuld roast a whle chicken - have 1 breast and poss drumstick between 2 adults and a toddler with heapings of veg and some homemade stuffing.

The next day I would do a fried rice/ paella/ jambalaya/ pilau type dish with the other breast, veg and if you are worried about protein egg in the fried rice, nuts, lentils/ pulses in a pilau. I think that would be enough meat though. On the thid day I would use the reaming thighs and drumstick to made a pie - in a thick bechamel with peas/ sweetcorn/ mushrooms/ leeks under flakey or shortcrust pastry. I generally get 2 meals for 4 out of a chook plus maybe 1 sarnie for ds.

I'm sure others could stretch it further but I'm happy with that!

TheMoneySavingator

not sure if it will help but our local farmer (if you are in a position to find a farmer) used to sell us checkens quite cheap and then we'd use the livers and stuff for dinner aswell...love chicken livers!

chesky369

Don't forget to boil the bones up with an onion, carrot and leek afterwards and use it as the basis for home-made soup.

redfox

I've moved this thread over to the Old Style board where I'm sure the assembled wisdom here will be able to help

andygb

I have just roasted a chicken today, which we bought at the Co-op last night. It was 1.7K and was reduced to £2.70. When it had cooled down a bit, I cut it into the following pieces (or rather just pulled it apart) - 2 legs, 2 breasts, 2 winglets, then removed all the rest of the meat from the carcass (which will be used for stock). I am left with two dinner plates of meat, and think that it would be ample for 6 - 8 portions of salad, or any combination of recipes suggested previously.

Stephen_Leak

chesky369 wrote: »

Don't forget to boil the bones up with an onion, carrot and leek afterwards and use it as the basis for home-made soup.

Like this ...

CHICKEN SOUP

Makes 4 x 250ml servings

INGREDIENTS

1 cooked chicken carcass
100g to 125g of at least 2 vegetables (see below)
1 onion
½ a tablespoon of oil
1 teaspoon of dried sage
2 chicken stock cubes
1 litre of water

METHOD

Remove any skin from the chicken carcass and discard it. Peel the vegetables and chop any tops and/or bottoms off, if required, and then chop them into 2cm (1 inch) pieces. Peel the onion and chop it into 2cm (1 inch) pieces.

Put the oil into a large saucepan on a medium heat. Add the onion and fry for about 5 minutes until the onion is soft. Stir frequently to stop it sticking.

Add the chicken, sage, stock cubes, vegetables and water. Stir thoroughly. Bring to the boil, then turn down the heat until it is just boiling (simmering).

Put the lid on and cook for 1 hour. Check the liquid level from time to time and top up if it starts to dry out.

Fish out the bones and put them on a plate. Remove any meat which is still on the bones. Put the meat back into the soup and discard the bones.

If you have a food processor, put the soup in it and blend it to the desired consistency. If you have a hand blender, put it in the soup and blend it to the desired consistency. If you don’t have a food processor or hand blender, use a potato masher, press the soup through a sieve with the back of a spoon, or leave it lumpy. If you used a food processor, rinse out the saucepan and put the soup back into the saucepan.

Put the saucepan on a low heat and reheat the soup gently.

ADDITIONS & ALTERNATIVES

Use green vegetables (celery, courgettes, leeks) and mushrooms for a light and delicate soup. Use root vegetables (carrots, parsnips, potatoes, swedes, turnips) and tomatoes for a thick and hearty soup, The so-called “Holy Trinity” of soup base ingredients is carrot, celery and onion.

Use mixed herbs.

For Chinese Chicken Noodle Soup, use green vegetables and add a small pack of noodles after blending. Cook them in the soup, according to the instructions on the packet.

For Scottish [CENSORED]-a-Leekie Soup, use 200g to 250g of leeks and add 4 stoned and thinly sliced prunes after blending.

TIPS

Don’t panic, if you fish out fewer bones than you remember going in. The smaller ones will have dissolved into the soup, adding to the goodness.

Pink.

Hi Riversong,

It will depend on how many people you are feeding, but I would start with roast chicken dinner, then a pasta bake with a little leftover chicken and lots of cheap veg smothered in white sauce and topped with a little cheese.

The next day use more of the meat to make chicken fried rice which can be padded out with onions, mushrooms, peas, eggs and any other bits of veg you have hanging around. Remember that a very small amount of meat will go a long way in fried rice. If you're feeling extravagant then throw in a couple of slices of chopped ham too.

Finally broth (or any other soup) made with stock from the carcass. To make broth I use soup mix (barley, lentils and split peas) and lots of veg (normally carrots leeks, parsley and celery) although any veg you have in will do. Just before serving add any tiny bits of chicken you've managed to strip from the chicken before making the stock.

This thread will have lots more ideas:

Rubber Chicken

I'll add your thread to it later to keep the suggestions together.

Pink