1 chicken - 4 dinners

I don't eat much chicken anymore, mainly because I don't want to eat traditional, factory farmed chicken and organic, free range chicken is really expensive. But, this week I was at Costco and they had organic (not free range - which isn't ideal) whole chickens for $2.99 a lb. They were bundled in twos and my two birds cost about $20, so roughly $10 a bird.

I roasted the chicken using this Cooking Light recipe:

We had it for dinner with a salad. We had about 2 cups of shredded chicken left over.

I used the carcass (hate that word) and put it in the crockpot with ~6 cups water, celery, onions, carrots, bay leaves and peppercorn and cooked on high for a couple of hours. I got about 6 cups of stock.

I used the chicken, 4 cups of the broth (froze the other 2 cups for later use) and about 6 cups of cut up veggies to make Chicken Pot Pie. I got enough filling for 3 pies and froze the 2/3 of filling.

So - 1 chicken got us 4 dinners and an extra can worth of chicken broth. Not bad for $10!

Chicken and Broccoli Alfredo Pizza

Not the healthiest, but oh-so-good!

Ingredients:

One pizza crust (I used the bread machine)

ALFREDO SAUCE

3 Tbsp butter

1/2 tsp salt and pepper

4 Tbsp flour

1.5 c milk

1/2 c Parmesan cheese

GARLIC BUTTER

2 Tbsp butter

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 spring rosemary, chopped

2 c cooked chopped chicken

2 c steamed broccoli

1/2 c mozzarella cheese (optional)

Preparation:

1. Make pizza crust

2. Make Alfredo Sauce: Melt butter in a saucepan. Stir in salt, pepper and flour. Whisk in milk and cheese and cook until thick.

3. Make Garlic Butter: Melt butter in a saucepan. Saute garlic and rosemary until fragrant and browned.

4. Toss chicken and broccoli with half of Alfredo sauce.

5. Brush Garlic Butter over pizza crust. Top with alfredo sauce and then chicken/broccoli mixture. Sprinkle with cheese.

6. Bake at 425 for 15-20 minutes, or until sauce is bubbly and cheese is browned.

7. Let stand a few minutes before cutting.

Chicken with Orzo

Ingredients:

4 skinned, boned chicken breast halves
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 teaspoons butter
1.5 cup chopped green onions
1 cup diced carrot
1 cup diced ham
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 cups fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
1 cup Chardonnay or other dry white wine
2/3 cup whipping cream
3 cups hot cooked orzo (about 1 1/2 cups uncooked)

Preparation
1. Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper.
2. Melt butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken; cook 3 minutes on each side or until browned. Remove chicken from pan.
3. Add onions, carrot, ham, and garlic to pan; sauté 4 minutes or until lightly browned. Stir in broth and wine, scraping to loosen browned bits. Return chicken to pan; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 10 minutes or until chicken is done.
4. Remove chicken from pan with a slotted spoon; keep warm. Add whipping cream; cook, uncovered, over medium heat 8 minutes.

Chicken Pot Pie

This recipe is not light and not vegetarian, but it is one of my husband's favorites.

2 c cooked chopped chicken
1/2 c chopped onion
1/2 c chopped potatoes
1/3 c chopped carrots
1/3 c chopped celery
1/3 c peas
1 stick butter
1/2 c flour
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 can chicken broth
2/3 c milk
1 Pillsbury pie crust, thawed

1. Melt butter and cook onions and garlic until tender
2. Add flour and stir rapidly until a thick sauce forms.
3. Add chicken broth and milk, bring to bubbling and cook 1 min.
4. Add vegetables and chicken and pour into greased pie dish.
5. Top with pie crust (make slits in pie crust for venting)
6. Bake at 400 for 20 minutes, until crust is browned and filling is bubbly.