To ask about the Mumsnet whole chicken?

[Myfriendanxiety]

Supplies are very low and we have another 7 days of self isolation to do so can’t get hold of anything.

I do however have a large whole chicken which according to Mumsnet will feed me for a week.

Going to throw it in the slow cooker today but then need some ideas of what to do with it and how to safely store and reheat.

The week is a joke. But will do three days fresh and you can make stock from the bones for a soup, presuming you have carrots onions etc.

How many of you?

But first day do lots of roast veg with it and portion control when you serve up. Second day pie or curry or risotto (or two of those, if it will stretch that far) then make soup with the carcass. I do this most weeks, for a family of 4 (2 dc, 2 adults).

The not being able to get hold of anything is problematic. You can use small amounts of leftover chicken in noodles, fried rice, pizza etc which stretches it out, but only if you have lots of other stuff to bulk it out with

2 adults, a preschooler and 12 month old.

I do appreciate the week is a joke- but I do need genuine advice on what to do with this chicken!

I have no veg left other than a few potatoes and carrots. No tinned tomatoes (one jar of bolognaise sauce though). I do have some pasta and rice... just nothing to put with them!

Dishes you can make with leftover chicken include
Chicken pie with white sauce or gravy and additional mushrooms, peas etc as liked.
Chicken in white sauce served with rIce, mushrooms or sweet corn might be added.
Chicken risotto, asparagus or green beans added.
Pasta Alfredo.
Make stock with the carcass, use the stock to make Thai style chicken noodle soup, and in the sauce for the meals mentioned.

Just 2 of us now, but when I was cooking for 4, I'd get a roast dinner off it the first day. Nowadays, you'll have the meat and the juices to make gravy, then I guess a carb of some sort (potatoes/rice/noodles/beans) and a vegetable (fresh/frozen/tinned).

Second day, I'd put some in a stir-fry/curry/pasta dish - again, depends on what you have in.

Then, break up the carcass, put it in the slow cooker, cover with water and make stock for risotto or soup. I would also pick over the carcass once it's cooled, because the slow cooking breaks down a lot of connective tissue and releases a lot more usable meat which you could freeze for later (if you're sick to the back teeth of chicken by then ).

Curious to know what sort of things the MNetters who used to say that one chicken barely gave enough meat to feed 8ft teenage son for one meal (and seemed to imply that making a chicken last more than one meal was, well, a bit tight-fisted) are cooking.

It could be helpful to know!
I'm certainly interested in all recipe ideas (not just these days).

Firstly don’t ruin it by putting it in the slow cooker.

Roast it first. Get 4 adult roast dinners of that (2days)

Strip the carcass after the first day and store correctly in fridge/freezer. Make stock (see below)

Curry with plenty of veg. 4 adult dinners (2 days)

Risotto Pair with mushrooms 4 adult dinners (2 days)

Carcass in large pan, onions, carrots, celery, herbs water. Simmer for a couple of hours. GetS the rest of chicken of carcass and makes base for chicken & sweetcorn soup. Or depending on your store cupboard staples, red Thai chicken noodle soup.

Soup makes as many as 6-8 portions.

Happy to help.

I often use the last few bits for Mulligatawny soup (can make a main meal for adults).

My recipe calls for rice, onion, flour, carrot, celery, apple and curry powder, but at a pinch you could us just rice, onion and curry powder. And chicken stock, which you could make from the carcass.

Basically it’s just a curry-flavoured soup with lots of rice, bits of cooked chicken added just for the last 5 mins.

Another thing I do with a few last bits (marinated in soy sauce) is Thai style egg fried rice.

Also don’t just ditch the carcass once you’ve boiled it for stock. Pick the remaining meat off the bones- you’ll be surprised how much you get. It can then be chucked in the soup.

Roast dinner (2)
Pasta sauce with chicken in
Chicken fried rice

Reading back through your posts @Myfriendanxiety it seems you might not have the ingredients for pastry to make a chicken pie, but you could make the chicken in sauce then top it with sliced potatoes and bake.

I’d use partly cooked potatoes with plenty of liquid in the sauce, perhaps dot some butter on the potatoes so they brown nicely.

Don't you have anyone who can do a shop for you and leave it on your doorstep and you can PayPal or bank transfer the money to them?

Ask on social media and I'm sure someone will help you. It's always good to not waste food and you've had some good tips for the chicken which should always last for two proper meals and a soup for a family your size, but there's really no need for people to be without food because they can't get out, even now.

What else do you have in op? Spices, herbs, rice , tins etc. If you're very low on root veg I wouldn't bother with a stock tbh I'd use as ingredients themselves.

@AdaColeman what do I need for the pastry? I’m a dreadful cook so this is all very new to me!

@TheRealHousewife this will make me sound ridiculous- but how do I roast it? I’ve only ever done it in the slow cooker before.

The week is a joke but:

Meal 1 - the original roast
Meal 2 - cold leftovers, bulked out by chips, bread, whatever

Then, pick it clean, boil the carcase with odds and ends of veg, cooked or uncooked. We usually freeze these bits for later.

Meal 3 - pie or pasta bake, with the picked bits. If you have any tortillas you could make quesadillas
Meal 4 - soup, add noodles, bits of leftover veg, peas anything and noodles, spaghetti or soup pasta - or small chunks of potato, add a poached egg if you have any close to date

And yes, you might be surprised by the meat left on the bones once you have boiled it for stock. Pick it again and add to the soup, or freeze for pie etc later.

@InDubiousBattle of the top of my head I have;
Rice
Pasta
Tom purée
Curry power
Paprika
Chilli powder
Dried Herbs etc
Gravy granules
Plain flour
Butter
Baked beans
Frozen chips
Potatoes
Peas
Carrots

pencilandfork.net/2010/12/shortcrust-flan-pastry/

That's the easiesr pastry explanation I have found. Michel Roux's flan pastry is easy to do, don't worry that it looks odd when you put it in the fridge. It works really well and freezes beautifully!

Roasting a chicken is super easy, you can literally just pop it in the oven, it should tell you on the pack how long and what temperature to cook it.

Do you have an egg and some frozen peas and soy sauce. Then you can do chicken fried rice. I usually do it without the chicken and just frozen peas and corn when I'm running a bit low in funds. If you have lentils in the back of the cupboard you can do bolagnaise with that. Or a pasta bake with pasta and your chicken. This whole situation sucks. We're trying to stay out of the shops as DS is vulnerable the other night I gave them pasta with a tin of tomato soup over the top and tinned hotdogs chopped into it. It looked grim but they ate it.

@Myfriendanxiety, look up shortcrust pasty on BBC Food website for instructions.

And have a look on your local facebook pages. Many local pubs are delivering fruit and veg packs as their suppliers are providing them with what they had been sending to schools etc. They aren't making a huge profit on them, many deliver, others give you a timeslot to pick up when there will be nobody else at the door!

@Toomuchbubblebath it was from the butchers so no instructions!

@Onescaredmuma yep that I have! Thanks.

Roast it.
Then roast with roast potatos, carrots, peas.
Next day cold chicken and chips
Then strip bits left and mix with your bolognaise sauce jar, and mix with cooked pasta. Put in oven proof dish, use crust end of bread to make bread crumbs sprinkle these on top with shake of dried herbs and you have pasta bake.
If you shake oil over btop the bake goes nice and crunchy in the oven

If you have cheese in fridge grate a little on top.

It is time for strict portion control and frugal eating...

OK can you weigh it and post here? Then we can work it out