Easy Chicken Stock - Roasted Chicken Part 2

Hi,

I have been reminded that I never did circle around to write about taking the roast chicken carcass and turning it into delicious and cheap stock. So here it is.  Also, if when you are cooking and you end up with chicken bones or small bits of chicken, I just throw them in a bag and freeze them for when I make stock.

1 roasted chicken carcass (Also any leftover chicken bones that you may have frozen)

Break up the carcass. Add any leftover bones or drippings scraped from the roasting pan, into a large stock pot, large enough to hold chicken and water to cover.

1 large onion, peeled and cut in half
2 carrots
2 bay leaves
if you have any fresh herbs such as parsley or thyme, they can be added as well
1 bouillon cube (I know that some people may not like this, but I usually add just one cube)

Add the above ingredients to the pot and add water to cover. Bring just to boiling and lower temperature to low, so that the water is hot, but not enough to boil. Skim the gunky stuff that forms on the surface. Cook for at least 2 hours and as long as 4. Add water if necessary. Adjust to taste with salt and pepper.

Strain the stock through a strainer. I usually divide the stock into small containers and freeze. It's great to have stock on hand for soup.

Hope you can stock up on stock! (sorry for the pun)

Hugs,
Mameekosan

Classic Roast Chicken

Hi,

Roast chicken is one of the easiest meals around. The only problem is the cooking time. You can't roll into your apartment at the end of the day and hope to have dinner on the table in 15 minutes. Roasting a chicken takes 1 to 1.5  hours. And if you're starving, 1.5 hours is a long time to wait for dinner.

One idea is you make a roast chicken on the weekends, then you'll have a nice weekend meal and enough chicken for leftovers during the week.

1 frying chicken (3 to 4 pounds)

Remove the packet of stuff from the inside of the chicken. It contains the heart, liver, and other stuff. I admit it, I usually throw them out. Rinse the chicken, if the chicken seems especially dirty and pat dry with paper towels. Place the chicken in a pyrex baking dish. If you have a roasting rack, use it, otherwise you can do without.

Lemon, bay leaves, oregano, garlic (all of these are optional, but a nice addition)
2 tablespoons olive oil
salt and pepper

If you have a lemon you can slice it and place it inside the chicken cavity. You can also put in spices if you have those hanging around. Salt and pepper the inside cavity. Sprinkle the olive oil over the top of the chicken. If you don't mind getting your hands a bit oily, rub the olive oil over the entire chicken, then sprinkle the outside with salt and pepper.

Bake at 375 degrees for 1 to 1.5 hours. The chicken is done when you can wiggle the drumstick and it feels loose. Or take a small knife and check next to the thigh bone, there should be no pink color. If the drumstick joint isn't loose or if you see pink, put the chicken back in for 10 minutes and check again. You can serve the roast chicken with a green salad. Or if you have more time you can make the No Carb Cauliflower and one of the chop chop salads.

I like to, after dinner, take all the chicken off the bone, store it away for lunches and then make chicken stock with the carcass. I'll post the chicken stock recipe another time. Hope you enjoy the roast chicken, it's economical and efficient (if you have enough time.)

Hugs,
Mameekosan.