Making the Most of What you have

We were fortunate to have for dinner yesterday a Roast chicken, with roast potatoes, roast parsnip and roast onion.  Served with carrots, broccoli, peas and cauliflower. Lots of gravy and it went down very nicely.  I cooked it in the Ninja on roast function for 1 hour, and then took the chicken out to rest.  Then continued with the finishing off of the roasties.  We thoroughly enjoyed it and decided to repeat the process today, especially with it being cold. 

So off G went and got another chicken.  There is a bit of strategy in the madness of this which I will explain below.  I have stripped the chicken and have half a bowl of shredded chicken for my efforts.  This will be used as the basis for the chicken stew.  With the chicken left over from tonight's chicken, together with the remains of the vegetables yesterday, I intend to turn this into a chicken pot pie.  I will make pastry tomorrow for this, a top and a bottom and then in a pan mix the leftover veggies and meat with the leftover gravy and some cranberry sauce in layers in the pastry base and then add on the top.  That should do us for a couple of days, served either with some mashed potato and gravy or some homemade chips. With two chicken carcasses I can then make a nice good for you stock.  With that stock, I can make lots of good soups and stews.  At the moment I have in mind, a chicken stew, which can then if there is anything left be converted with some more stock into a chicken noodle soup. Taking a leaf from the past here, by making good food go a little bit further.

I have also prepped up the carrot, leek, onion for the stock making.  I have also prepped up a small bowl of leftover veg to be possibly used in a Broccoli and Cheese soup.  Just making use of what I have to hand at this present time.

Tea tonight was delicious again in any event plus plenty to make the most of.  Very simply done in the Ninja on roast/bake mode for 60 minutes.  Roasties browned off a bit more for another 15 minutes.  All cooked with no extra fat, all comes from the chicken itself.  The stock in the base of the pan is also used in the gravy so really a lot of goodness out of one chicken, plus you get the stock afterwards.

Without the gravy

with the gravy

I also plan when I make the pastry tomorrow for the pie, to also make an apple pie, egg custard, rice pudding. I still have lots of bottled fruit on the Pantry shelf and so I shall serve one of these with the rice pudding to ring the changes. Thinking Strawberry here at the moment as will get the Strawberries and the syrup. Apple pie will be served as pudding later on in the week and will keep in the fridge as will the egg custard.  The egg custard can be served in slices cold though.  It has been a while since I have made one of these so I think will make a nice change.

Hope everyone has a lovely evening.

Catch you soon.

Pattypan

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