Take one roast chicken...

[Laugs]

I am treating the family to a whole chicken for the first time in months and I need to make it worth the money.

Sounds silly, but it is a treat, we're living on mince and veggie meals at the moment.

We are only 2 adults and one toddler, so I'm hoping to get at least 3 meals out of it, the first being a lovely roast.

Any suggestions what I can do with it next? Soup, curry etc?

Thanks! x

Chicken pie the next day.

Chicken and veg soup with the lovely real stock made from bones

thanks, do you have a good recipe for chicken pie?

Meal 1: Roast

Meal 2: Strip chicken meat from carcass, use to make a risotto with diced shallot/onion, peas or mushrooms, add shredded chicken at end. Serve with parmesan grated on top and salad. Or a chicken curry or pie. For pie, make white sauce, add cooked veg and chicken , season use ready made or home made pastry, cut out lid, place on top of filling in pie dish, crimp edges and brush with beaten egg/milk. Bake. Let me know if you want a curry recipe.

Meal 3: Boil carcass to make stock base for soup, with onion studded with a clove, a carrot, couple of sticks of celery and a bouquet garni. Skim froth off top. Simmer gently for a couple of hours, add veg: e.gleek, cubed pots, diced carrot, can add lentils or pearl barley etc. Season and simmer, serve with crusty bread/croutons

chicken and mushroom pasta the next day.

then boil up the bones and make soup with leftover chick and veg the next day. yummy.

Chicken pie

I always cook more carrots and peas the day I roast the chicken and set them aside to use in the pie, also set aside any left over gravy if you have some. Strip the meat from the carcass. Cook some onions or leeks in butter until they are transparent. Mix with the carrots and peas and gravy and pit in a pie dish. I cheat at this stage and use jusrol pastry! and cover the top

Nigel Slater does this lovely thing where you tear the meat into shreds and basically make spicy nuggest out of them. Shove them in bread rolls with mayonnaise. Not particularly helathy but very delicious.

Dip leftover bits in batter, deep fry in oil and serve with rice and sweet and sour sauce.

I usually just heat the chicken up again in gravy, maybe have it with rice instead of potatoes.

if there's still some left, do a stir fry with noodles, spring onions, peppers etc or whatever you have in the fridge.

chicken risotto
chicken and ham pie
chicken with pesto and cream over pasta
chicken soup use bones at least

Chicken noodle soup is our reason to eat roast chicken pretty much
Boil (very, very gently) bones & skin & other gunky inedible bits along with chopped carrots (1/2), 1 chopped onion, few mushrooms (manky ones forgotten in a bag for a week is fine), leek if you have it, couple of sticks of celery. Cook for hour or so. Drain. Stick in some rice noodles, broken up, or small soup pasta & cook for 15 mins.

Delish!