Friday, November 6, 2009

The BEST $4.00 I ever spent!

Ok, so my new found technique is to parooze the sale ads, see what meat is on sale, and then search for recipes using those meats. This week, whole chickens were on sale. Little did I know how much I was actually going to get out of that one little chicken! I made Beer Butt Chicken for dinner. Then I picked off all of the remaining meat and made Chicken Salad. Then I boiled the carcass with some herbs and veggies I had laying around and made chicken stock! Holy Moly! Like I said...best $4 I ever spent!!

Beer Butt Chicken

1 12 oz can beer
1 whole chicken (about 3 lbs)
1 large onion, sliced
4 sprigs fresh rosemary
Salt, pepper, and poultry seasoning to taste
1 (14.5 oz) can low-sodium chicken broth
4 red potatoes, sliced


Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a baking dish. Pour out half the beer from the can, spray the can with cooking spray, and set it upright in the center of the baking sheet. Loosen the skin over the breast of the chicken, and insert an onion slice, and 1 rosemary sprig under the skin of each side of the breast. Place about half the onion, cracked garlic cloves, and 2 sprigs of rosemary into the cavity of the chicken. Spray the outside of the chicken with cooking oil spray, and sprinkle with salt, pepper and poultry seasoning to taste. Place the chicken onto the beer can in an upright position, with the can inserted into the cavity of the chicken. Pour the chicken broth into the baking dish, and place the rest of the sliced onion and the potatoes into the broth. Roast about 1 1/2 hours. Let the chicken rest for 10 minutes before slicing.


Chicken Salad


Chicken pieces removed from whole chicken
Mayo or Miracle Whip to desired consistency
Sliced celery
Sliced black olives
salt & pepper
Dill (I use dried)

Combine and refrigerate overnight. There is no exact measurements, since this depends on how much chicken you have leftover.




Chicken Stock

1 chicken carcass
1 large onion, quartered
1 carrot, sliced
2 stalks celery, sliced
2 bay leafs
2 sprigs rosemary
salt
pepper
6-8 cups water

Combine everything in a large pot, bring to a boil. Turn down to simmer, cover and let cook for 2 hours. Strain through a fine strainer or line yours with a cheese cloth to get out all small bits. Allow fat to come to the top and skim it off with a spoon. Allow stock to get to room temp before placing it in the fridge. Make some yummy soup for dinner tomorrow!!

Owl Cupcakes!

I saw these on a fellow foodie's blog and gave them a try!! I won't bother reposting the recipe, since she did it so well, but I did take a shortcut; she made her own frosting and I used store-bought. Call me lazy...but they were still a HUGE hit!




Ingredients:


Storebought cake mix
Chocolate frosting
Oreo cookies, divided, only using side with frosting
Brown M&M's or Reeses Pieces
Candy corn

Bake cupcakes as directed, frost and assemble!