Rubber Chicken

No, not that kind! Although, I must admit I do own one of these. Draw your own conclusions.

Leanne Ely posted this idea at the Flylady site. Rubber Chicken is how to serve a family of four for three days on one chicken.

Day One: You're gonna roast that chicken in the oven (or crockpot, like we did with Evil Deli Chicken). Use your favorite recipe, and serve with lots and lots of veggies and some mashed potatoes. And gravy. Maybe some rolls, too. You want a lot of sides with this meal, because you want leftovers.

Day Two: Take your leftover chicken and pull off every little bit of meat off of the bones. Leanne says, "you want that chicken skeleton to look like a science project." Take your chicken meat and season with some Mexican spices and enjoy a meal of chicken tacos, or chicken tostadas, or chicken enchiladas, or a chicken casserole. Whatever your family loves.

Day Three: The chicken adventure ends with the chicken skeleton hitting the soup pot. Three quarts of water, some veggies, salt, pepper, and garlic powder -- cook the heck out of it and strain. Now make soup or store appropriately.

Not bad for one little chicken! Leanne says, "Remember this is Rubber Chicken, not Miracle Chicken; if you have a big family, you will need to cook more than one chicken to insure leftovers."

Wendy says, "My family would have a hard time with chicken 3 days in a row. While I love this frugal recipe, do what I do: enjoy the roasted/crock-potted chicken on day one. Pick the chicken clean that night after dinner, and freeze the meat. Take the skeleton and cook it that night or the next day, and again, store the soup-makin's for later on. You are now free to plan your menu and spread out those chicken dinners."

Leanne, thanks for this idea.