Chicken Leg Quarters - High Mileage!

I found a large package of chicken leg quarters on markdown at Fred Meyer last week so I decided to snap them up and see what all I could do with a big package of chicken priced for only $3.18.  Not a bad deal, huh?

All seasoned up and ready to roast in the oven

First up, roasted chicken.  I cleaned and trimmed all four leg quarters before placing them into an oiled baking dish.  I seasoned them liberally with salt, pepper, granulated garlic, paprika and dried parsley.  All simple spices I regularly keep on hand in my cabinet.  I covered them in foil and baked them in the oven at 400° for an hour.  We enjoyed a meal of roasted chicken with some side dishes and there were plenty of leftovers.

Legs for the girls to put into their school lunches

The next morning I removed two drumsticks and set them aside for the girl's to have for their lunch one day.  

Quite a bit of meat left

Then I removed all of the remaining meat from the bones and put it into my slow cooker with some broth from the freezer as well as half a chopped onion, some carrots and celery. 

Blocks of frozen broth from the freezer
I also added water to fill up the pot to the top

Later I added a can of corn and a can of green beans to make a lovely chicken vegetable soup.  I seasoned the soup with salt, pepper, chopped garlic and parsley.  When it was done I filled up six pint jars for readymade lunches and put the rest into containers for the freezer.

Chicken bones from all four leg quarters after removing most of the meat

At the same time I put the bones, the other half of the onion, a big handful of carrots, and the heart of the celery into my other slow cooker. 

Not about to let all of this deliciousness go to waste

I added warm water to the roasting pan and stirred up all that yumminess to add to the pot.  

Chicken bones, pan drippings, onion, carrots & celery
I then topped it off with water and let it cook all day long

I filled it up with water and let it cook on low all day long.  After straining the broth into a large bowl I set it in the refrigerator to chill overnight.  The next morning I skimmed off all the fat that had risen to the top and solidified then put it into freezer containers and into the freezer for our next pot of soup or other recipes.

Here is the roasted chicken after I removed it from the oven - Yum!

Definitely money well spent and a great and flavorful way to used up every bit of that chicken.  The roasted chicken was delicious, the girls loved that soup and I really like having the extras in the freezer all ready for future meals.