Chicken Broth

I guess this week I’ve done a great deal of talking about not letting anything go to waste and left over’s.  Well today, I have a chicken carcass that is just full of flavor and I am not going to let it go to waste either.  I just tossed the carcass in some water with all the left over demi glace that was left in the roaster and I am making chicken broth out of it. 

I will pick the bones clean and make one last meal out of it.  Since it is just me tonight, I can still make creamed chicken with what is left using some of the broth and the rest of the chicken.  I might even have left over creamed chicken for lunch tomorrow making that chicken go even further.

Broth

Demi glace

Whole chicken carcass with left over meat on it

1 whole quartered onion

2 cut up carrots 

2 cut up celery stalks 

2 bay leaves

Handful of fresh thyme from my herb garden (You can use dried - 2 tsp.)

Kosher Salt and pepper

Enough water to cover the chicken carcass  (About 2 ½ quarts)

Toss everything into a large pot.  Simmer for well over a half hour to marry the flavors and until the onion is tender and falling apart.   Take the carcass out and let it cool to pull the rest of the meat from it.  Strain the broth through a strainer and toss the herbs and veggies away.  Taste your both to see if you need any additional seasoning.  Skim off any chicken fat.

Cool the broth and what you are not using immediately put in a container and freeze for later use.  You should get about 2 quarts and enough left over for the creamed chicken. You can put it in a large baggie and freeze also if you lay it flat.  I like to save my left over egg drop soup carry out containers just for this purpose.  Which is another thing you can make with this broth.

Creamed Chicken on Texas Toast

Left over pulled chicken

Chicken broth (just enough to cover the chicken you are heating up)

1/2 pint of half and half or milk

Salt and pepper to taste

2 large tbs. cornstarch and water

Toasted Texas toast slices

1 tsp. butter

Heat your chicken and broth until it is simmering.  Add your half and half or milk.  When it begins to simmer slowly add your corn starch slurry.  It should begin to thicken immediately.  Keep adding the corn starch until it is thick.  Taste and season the creamed chicken with salt and pepper.  Add a pat of butter on top of the toast and ladle your hot creamed chicken over the toast.

My roast chicken fed 2 grandsons and me one meal.  I then made a chicken sandwich for me making meal 2.  Meal 3 was a salad with cold chicken and now I’m making 2 quarts of broth and one last meal from it.   Not too bad from 1 good sized chicken.  Like the energizer bunny, it just keeps going and going and going.

Hope I have helped you stretch your dollar a bit and I given you some ideas.  Buy what is on sale and extend it by using all of your left over’s. Don’t forget to save that wishbone.  Mine is drying so I can share it with a grandson to see who will get their wish. My wish for you is to be happy and may God bless you and yours.

Tomorrow, I have very ripe bananas and can't let them go to waste.  I'm making banana bread.  The riper the better for really good banana bread.