I decided to take a crack at making some chicken stock since I had all the ingredients on hand after removing the meat from a whole chick I cooked a few days before. I brought out my crockpot and filled it half way with water. As the meat was removed from the bones the skins, fats, and bones went in the pot. I bought a package of "soup greens" which was pretty economical, it contained a carrot, one celery stalk, on parsnip, dill and cilantro and a turnip. I chopped those all up and threw them in with the chicken bones. The water simmered overnight and made a pretty flavorful broth. Once the time did it's work I removed all the bones and skin and threw them out. I end up adding a about 2 tablespoons of salt to bring out more of the flavors. Here's my secret step.
All of the extra chicken meat was cubed and measured out into 1 cup portions for freezing.
After the pot simmered I let it cool for a couple hours on the counter then refrigerated the stock. Once it was cold a lot of the extra fat congealed at the top of the liquid making it easy to scoop off and throw in the trash. I don't need all that extra oiliness in my soups!
The next day I wanted to test out my broth and threw together a quick soup. I boiled some pasta and once cooked drained the water added the stock and veggies and then finally some of that cubed frozen chicken.
So the mojo marinated chicken that I proved to be more than I could eat myself. I'd been reading 'The Simple Dollar' and found an article on using the whole chicken. Embracing this philosophy I cubed up the remain chicken and froze it in small one cup portions. The bones and skin I threw in a crock pot and boiled with water carrots, celery, turnips and parsnips till it made a nice chicken broth. As the water was drawing out the goodies from what was left of my amazing mojo chicken I dug through my fridge trying to use up some aging groceries for dinner. I decided to make a pizza since that traditionally is the place all good left overs should go.
I mixed up some feta cheese with oregano and basil.
some of the bits of chicken that was left over got chopped up.
I had only one plum tomato left so that got sliced super thin.
Isn't it gorgeous? Nothing really beats making your own pizza crust. Not to knock the baboli premade crusts that my mom likes using. But this is way better. Just a little bit of planning and time to let it rise makes some of the best pizzas you can ever make. Don't miss out just because you're scared of yeast!
I recently read a blog post of a woman who made it her mission to try the recipes without pictures and then add her own images of the finished product. I thought I'd take a crack at it and stumbled across a recipe for Mojo Roasted Chicken . I saw this as the perfect opportunity to purchase a pair of kitchen shears. Any dinner plan that involves me getting new toys is fine by me! I bought a whole chicken in an attempt to be more frugal with my meal plans (with the exception of the shears -- but hey! I'll use them more than just this once)
I got a 7lb bird for 99 cents a lb. I'm used to buying chicken breast at around $5 per lb. I started cutting the bird straight down the center of the 2 breast pieces (sternum area I'm guessing). I've seen my mom cut a raw chicken a couple times but haven't tried it myself since I moved out on my own (6 years ago) I removed the breasts and then tried to cut the wings and legs off. I had a hard time with this area because I couldn't really tell where the easiest part of the join was under all the skin. I did the best that I could and wish I found this guide before I began my butchering. Well it didn't take long and soon my 7lbs of chicken were in a foil pan.
I took a lot of care washing and sanitizing everything I touched while handling the chicken. I was wearing rubber gloves since I had a pretty bad gash on my finger from making biscuits last week. I didn't want any of that salmonella or w/e getting into my body. Thank you 60minutes for making me afraid. Once my station was clean I sat down at the table and measured out my spices and chopped up some garlic (next kitchen purchase will have to be a mincer)
The recipe called for heating the oil on the stove but I felt like saving myself some time and dirty dishes and zapped it for 1 1/2 minutes in the microwave. I juiced my lime and got just under the amount that I needed for the recipe. I love that my hands smell like lime now. The chicken is coated and soaked in the fridge overnight (at least 6 hours) I eagerly popped it in the oven the next morning and was glad I did. It turned out amazing. I'm gonna spice it up a little more next time it was kinda weak but huge on the citrus flavor.
All of the extra chicken meat was cubed and measured out into 1 cup portions for freezing.
The next day I wanted to test out my broth and threw together a quick soup. I boiled some pasta and once cooked drained the water added the stock and veggies and then finally some of that cubed frozen chicken. 
