Chicken - using the whole chicken without wasting any!

1 whole chicken

Soup:

1. carcass and any bits, plus any veg you may have eg. carrots, garlic, celery, onions, leeks etc.   

Peel the vegetables, then either just cut in half or leave whole.  

Add a couple of bay leaves, garlic  (if wanted), and some fresh parsley or corriander.
Enough water to well cover - plus some more. 
You can add some stock powder or cube at this stage - (or even later - wont really matter)

Bring to boil, skim well, then simmer until - at least - carrots are soft.  

You can leave this to simmer for a while - shouldn't  come to any harm - will just reduce the stock.

Dont forget to skim your soup well - this makes for a lovely clear soup

Make a casserole with  4 portions:

Fry over chicken portions in some sunflower or veg. oil and a small knob of butter.  

When skin is turning brown, turn portions over to just seal them.  

Place in casserole dish.  

Add your chopped vegetables to frying pan - and saute until softened.  

Add a can of tomatoes, seasoning and any herbs you fancy.  Replace chicken in pan.

Simmer gently until chicken is cooked through - at least 30 mins or longer - test. Shake pan from time to time, to stop the chicken sticking to the base.

 I made a simple chicken provencale with tomatoes, onions, celery and garlic.  

This can also be frozen, once cooled.

Chicken Breasts - roasted.

Oven 180/190 deg. C

In a roasting tin place a sliced onion, some garlic (if wanted), thinly sliced celery and carrot.  Place chicken breast on top.

You need not put any vegetables in at all - just roast with a little covering of oil/butter, and a small amount of water in base of tin.

Baste from time to time.

Roast until cooked through - test with skewer or thermometer. 

The chicken breast can be kept, covered, in your fridge and used for salads, sandwiches, chopped and added to cooked pasta etc.