Three Meals from One Chicken in One Hour!

Not so long ago when my son was born and money was getting tighter by the day, my girlfriend Lynn, made me famous. It was because I was the only person she knew that could get three meals out of one fat chicken! She has convinced me that in these current hard times that I need to share the information and I hope it will help someone else keep the family fed.

To start out, just boil a large whole fryer with some celery stalks and an onion cut in quarters.
Add season salt and pepper like you would to any pot of chicken soup. Add a little Old Bay Seasoning to that and 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic from the jar. Start cooking! Go do laundry.

When it's done and while it's still warm, remove chicken, bone and cut chicken into medium pieces. ( an inch and less ).
Take 1/3 of the cooked chicken pieces and place in a 9x12 baking dish. Take 1/3 of the cut up chicken (including all the tiny scraps) and place in a medium mixing bowl. Take the final portion of the chicken and put it back into the pot of broth.

Meal #1 :
Chicken casserole (and it's a favorite here).
Open a can of condensed soup of choice (Cream of Mushroom, Celery, or Chicken), and add 1/4 cup water, mix well. Pour into the baking dish over chicken pieces. Take 1/2 the onion and celery from the broth and chop into smaller pieces. Add to the casserole dish mixture. Set aside.

Now go slice 5-6 medium to large potatoes and boil until done. (Do Not over cook! Drain and set aside when done).

While that's cooking add 1/2 bag of medium width egg noodles to the broth pot. ( It still contains 1/2 the onion and celery) Chop up a can of store brand cooked carrots and one can of french style green beans and set aside. Add any spice you like and put on simmer. Cook over medium heat until noodles are tender. Add carrots and green beans. Simmer another 5 minute.
This was meal #2 : Chicken Soup

Now that the potatoes are done, drain and layer over chicken mixture in casserole dish. Make up one box of chicken or turkey stuffing mix (stove top is great, store brand is fine). While that sits for the 5 minutes to fluff; cut up enough velveeta to cover the potatoes leaving small spaces between the slices. Pour 1/4 cup milk (any kind) over potatoes.
Now the stuffing is ready, so spread it on top of the casserole and bake until cheese is melted.
( You can put the stuffing on the chicken and the potatoes on the top, it's just quicker this way)
You can do this in the microwave since the chicken is fully cooked. This saves the electric bill from oven use and heat from the oven, that runs your air conditioner longer. Also saves TIME! 2 Meals! Almost done!

Now simply add some mayo and ranch dressing to the chicken in the mixing bowl. Cut up ( I use a mini chopper) some celery (and onion if you like it) along with some bread and butter pickles (also chopped), mix and.... MEAL #3: Chicken Salad Congratulations! You're done! Enjoy.......

**If you are a couple, I suggest that you freeze 1/2 the casserole for another night. That makes 4 meals from one Chicken! (Just doesn't get any better than that). Take from freezer to fridge before you go to work and microwave when you get home. Dinner is done!