Wednesday, March 21, 2018

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.


16 comments:

  1. We give the solidified chicken fat to the chickens. They love it!!

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    1. Oh dear, I couldn't do that. Doesn't sit right with me.

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    2. Would that be considered cannibalism? I gave our chickens leftovers also until my husband ask me about it. I don't know.
      Jeannie @ GetMetoTheCountry

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    3. It seems like it would be, same with egg shells. Maybe its just me but I don't want to feed them their own, if you get my drift.

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  2. I love when a good buy at the store translates to multiple meals! Last time I got a great deal was 5 packages of hot turkey sausage for .99 a package. I made grilled sausages, pasta sauce with hot sausage, turkey sausage gravy and biscuits, and sausage pizza!
    BTW, your daughters have such petite appetites. Mine would stare sadly at a single chicken leg and ask, "Is that all there is?" She would polish off an entire leg quarter easily. Have to admit I would, too!
    Still waiting on those cliffhangers! :^) :^)

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    1. Trust me the chicken leg was only part of their lunch. They packed a lot more to go with it. Nothing petite about their appetites, Ha! Ha!

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  3. We cook in very much the same way!

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  4. Have you ever given your recipe for salmon burgers? I couldn't find it...

    I may have 2diabetes. Next week's doctor appt will tell me for sure. I'm trying the keto diet, because it's supposed to help -- but am craving bread and chips like crazy. How do you fight this?

    Also, did Burger King corporate (or your local restaurant) ever get back to you? And what did they do?

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    Replies
    1. Oh Cindy, so sorry to hear about the diabetes, but you know keto will make a difference. I get my salmon burgers at Trader Joes. Its cheaper to buy them there then make them. And they are good.

      Burger King did call me and they did a whole retraining of the restaurant staff and those involved were put on probation.

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  5. Yesterday, I found whole chickens for $0.49/lb. You can bet I bought several, and tucked them in the freezer! In our house, a whole chicken gives us two meals--roasted with all the typical sides, and then turned into soup later in the week, usually chicken tortilla soup. Generally, while I love it, the family isn't really crazy about chicken, but I couldn't say "no" to this deal.

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    1. Wow Meg! That is a really great deal on chickens. Good for you. I'd stock up too.

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  6. You sure got a lot of mileage out of that chicken! Great job!

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    1. Thank you Debbie. One thing around here, we'll never starve!

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  7. Well I'm definitely going to find some chicken quarters!!! YUM!

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    1. It was YUM!! Still have some of the soup and a ton of broth in the freezer. :)

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