More than a Little Chicken

On Fridays I would like to take the time to talk about facing some of my many fears. Now, when I refer to something as a fear... it is more along the lines of an apprehension. For the purpose of this blog I will define 'fears' as:  things that I am not confident with, avoiding, have never done, or have tried with out much success. Since I have many  things that fit this description I have decided to devote a category to it on my blog. Here is the first installment of Freaky Friday. Freaky Friday is devoted to me sharing with you the story of how I tried to face yet another fear.

Today's Fear: Cooking a whole Bird

One of the most important keys to keeping your grocery budget down is to stop buying individual pieces of meat. It is best to wait until chicken goes on sale and then buy the whole bird. Your first meal will be Chicken Dinner, then you cut up and freeze the cooked meat and use it in other chicken dishes through out the month. From Chicken sandwiches, to salads, to stir fry, to chicken pot pie.... the list goes on. This should save you time and money.
I have heard this rule of thumb time and again. It makes sense.... I want to do it, but some how that bag of frozen, boneless, skinless, chicken breasts keep jumping into my cart while at Costco.

Then this little hen fluttered into my life....
As a family in the ministry at a church in a rural farming community we enjoy and also rely on people from the congregation sharing with us. We enjoy and survive on fresh meat, fruits and vegetables donated by people from their personal farms. It is a wonderful thing!
So when my friend Kris put a frozen chicken in each of my hands-- I thought "Here's my chance!"
These chickens came home with me sat in my freezer for a month, while I worked up the nerve to cook them. Then one day it happened.... we needed chicken. I defrosted the bird in the fridge and put it in the pan. Then I panicked.
What do I do with this thing! Do I need to reach up it's crevasse and pull some stuff out? Does it matter that there are a few feathers on the feet? Do I wash it off or something?

Fortunately my friend Maria was on her way over. She knew exactly what to do.
First she asked me, "How well did you know this chicken?"
"Well, I didn't know it personally, I am sure I saw it pecking around my friend's house before," I answered.
"Ah, so it's a laying hen!" Maria replied.
I just gave her a slow wide eyed nod at that point.
"Well in that case, put it in a pot and boil the heck out of it! Don't take it off the stove until the meat falls off the bones. You can't bake a laying hen, the meat will be too tough."

In a few swift moments Maria then sliced the laying hen open to make sure there were no parts left inside. She got rid of what remained. Then she washed the dirt off in cold water and plucked the remaining feathers.

I pulled out my one big pot and stuck the bird in there. But there was an issue with the feet. The fact that there were still feet.

No problem, Maria tired to use a knife to cut them off and then just started bashing the leg/foot against the edge of the pot until it broke off.

After filling the pot with water I added celery, onions, carrots and various herbs and olive oil to the pot while it simmered. Then when all the meat was falling off the bone I strained out the bones. I set some chicken and broth aside for chicken and rice soup. I kept a few containers of meat to use in Chicken Pot Pie. I also filled several ice cube trays with broth so that I would have smaller amounts available while cooking. Then I froze larger amounts of chicken broth in cleaned out yogurt containers.

As promised, that little chicken has provided several meals for us and lots of nourishing broth to use is many meals and soups to come.