why did the chicken cross the road?

to give me three dinners out of one roasted bird!!
I had made some beef stew in the crockpot and didn't want extra dishes so i wiped it out and used it to roast said chicken. Placed breast-side up and sprinkled with paprika, garlic powder and some salt, it cooked in a couple hours on the high setting. Of course, you can do it quicker in the oven but always make sure to cook to 180 degrees in the thigh area.
After picking off the meat, I used the carcass to make some stock, which is currently bubbling away as the base for tortilla soup.
I used half dark meat and half white to add to a chicken alfredo last night, the rest of the dark meat in the tortilla soup for tonight and reserved the rest of the breast for use in a chicken caeser salad tomorrow- we like chicken so we don't mind in three nights in a row but of course you can freeze for later use in a soup or pasta, though i don't think i would use the previously frozen breasts for a cold salad just because the texture would be odd. so anyway- a cheap way to feed the fam this week! my bord only cost 3.60, which equals meat for just over a dollar a night!!

Leftover Makeover

This week's "Wednesday" post is coming a bit early because I just made this dish and actually have measurements to share before I forget them :) Plus I skipped last week. In a post-holiday pout about the poundage that crept in with all the cookies and party food, I decided to cut carbs out this week to get over some of the cravings. In general, I am a firm believer in eating nothing "white" ie refined but over the last few months my diet has not reflected that belief :(
BUT more on that later- for now, I share my way to use up some of the leftovers from the previous two night's worth of meals. I had some cajun seared boneless skinless chicken thighs and some baby bella mushrooms (I rinsed off the red wine reduction that they were cooked in before popping them in the fridge with the leftover chicken- i had served them over sirloin steak last night) that were calling me to use them in a pf chang style lettuce wrap. It ended up great with some glazed carrots. Though it fed two adults and my son, I honestly could have eaten the entire serving so you might want to add some brown rice to stretch it. The mixture would also be good over shredded bok choy and daikon as well if you make it a little saucier!
4 Chicken thighs (boneless skinless &cooked)- 2 breasts could be substituted
4-6 Mushrooms
1/2 small can of water chestnuts
3 small green onions
Chop uniformly and add to skillet coated w/ olive oil (sesame oil would be good too) and cook for a few minutes. Add 1 clove minced garlic and cook one more minute. To the mixture add:
2 TB soy sauce
Splash vinegar (any type- I used white but rice wine would probably be the best)
Coarse ground black pepper to taste
Simmer until liquid is well absorbed.
Serve in cups of iceberg lettuce
Crispy and delicious and CHEAP- all I bought specifically for this meal was the 98 cent can of water chestnuts and I will use the other half in a spinach dip to keep in the fridge for the rest of the week!