Chicken Little

It’s pure coincidence that during the same week Hudson’s favorite book is Chicken Little – I decided to try and cook a chicken – a whole chicken.  Fortunately for Hudson I did this during his naptime so he didn’t have to see the poor chicken!  

I have cooked a chicken before once.  But it was years ago at a cooking class I took with some friends.  So I have never done it on my own but Dillons had whole chickens on sale this week for 69 cents a pound so I decided I had to give it a try!

So I started with this….

 

Removed it’s innards – whatever they are called.  (Insert gagging sounds here.)   UUUGGGHH! 

Rubbed some salt, olive oil and rosemary on it…

Popped it in the oven and a few hours later…

 

Now I had plans to make a side of mashed potatoes and cooked carrots for dinner tonight.  But after I got it in the oven Jamie informed me he had invited my family over for pizza.  So no go on that!  But my original intent when I bought it was to just use the meat for cooking casseroles, salads and such.  So after it cooled I deboned it and got as much meat out as I could….

And then packed it up and freezed it to use later.  It only took about 30-40 minutes all together – preparing and deboning, and I think I can use the meat for 5 meals (I tend to skimp on meat in the dishes I cook – we don’t really need as much meat as we think we do).  I paid $3.45 for a 5 pound chicken – that means it costs me 69 cents a meal for the meat!  Pretty good deal!

Now I have to go mop all the dog drool up off the kitchen floor!  Poor Zeus – he couldn’t stop the drool dripping off his jowls!  It was all over the kitchen floor!  They did get a few bites though!