This picture says it all: one chicken does triple duty. Now half your meal planning for the week is done.
How to get 3 meals from 1 chicken
I’ve read that the average adult makes more than 30,000 decisions a day. (It’s exhausting to even think about.)
Often times I find myself so mentally fatigued at the end of the day that I trend toward making decisions that based on what is “easier” instead of what is “better,” BUT I’ve also found that if I take a little time to plan in advance, better end-of-the-day choices almost make themselves. That’s where this post comes in: knock out three wholesome weeknight meals (for a family of 4) with the humble, whole chicken.
1. First, get a whole chicken. (We recommend one of ours- these pasture-raised birds are top notch, and research has shown that poultry raised on pasture has nutritional benefits compared to other poultry.)
2. Next, prepare to make Meal 1– spatchocked roasted chicken. You’ll need to collect your ingredients (oil, seasonings, butter, 4 diced potatoes, and 16 oz of your favorite roasting veggies), spatchcock your bird, and get it ready for the oven. Make sure you save the back in a food-safe storage container in the fridge.
After your meal has finished cooking,
- Serve the thighs and drumsticks with the potatoes and veggies.
- Pull the breast meat from the bone (also removing the skin) and reserve it for Meal 2.
- Pull the meat from the wings and reserve it for Meal 3 (along with any extra skin).
- Combine any leftover bones and store with the back (also for Meal 3).
3. Now you’re ready for Meal 2 – Chicken Salad. Collect your chicken breasts from the fridge and dice them up with whatever add-ins your heart desires. Once you’ve added in your mayo and seasonings and stirred to combine, you’re ready to enjoy this meal:
- with crackers and maybe a small green salad or
- in a wrap or on a bun with your favorite potato chips.
Note: you can swap the order of meals 2 and 3, if you want.
4. On to Meal 3 – Fancy Ramen. For this one, you’re going to want to get your bones cooking on the stove or in a crockpot/instant pot early so your nutrient rich bone broth is ready by dinner time.
About 30 minutes before you’re ready to eat, remove the bones from the stock (make sure to save any extra meat or skin to add it to what you saved after Meal 1) and collect your other ingredients (eggs, cabbage, carrots, noodles). Then follow the recipe as normal*.
Notes: Double the recipe for four portions. We like to re-crisp the skin under the broiler before we top the soup with it.
And there you have it! Three meals with one bird.
The Exceptions
You may be reading this thinking, “I don’t have a family of four.” That’s ok! We suggest using the above method to assist in either increasing your opportunities for hospitality (know some people you’ve been meaning to have over?) or sharing (know a young mom or elderly neighbor who could benefit from a meal?)! After all, it’s more blessed to give than to receive (Acts 20:35).
You may also be reading this thinking, “Um…don’t you have more than two kids? What do you feed the others?”
And if you are, you’re correct. We are a family of six, and our kids aren’t as small as they once were! Using the exact method I’ve outlined above wouldn’t work for our family like it would have four or more years ago. Here are our suggestions for larger families:
- For us, meat-and-three meals are typically special occasion fare. When we enjoy a roasted chicken, we will only get one additional meal out of it (which one depends on the pieces I reserve).
- More often than not, we stretch our meat by putting it into salads, casseroles, pastas, etc. with other protein sources like beans, cheese, or eggs.
- We still shoot for getting three meals from a whole bird: Meal 1 uses the breasts, Meal 2 uses the thighs, and Meal 3 uses the wings and drums (and most likely stock from the bones).
- If I need to be extra savvy, I aim for FOUR meals. I use my “three meal cut distribution,” but I reserve the stock for potato cheese soup (with lots of cheese and bacon mmmmm).
As with most of my posts, I hope this one has given you confidence to take this idea and run with it. Eating wholesome food while maintaining time constraints is possible with some planning.
Lord willing, we’ll be making more posts like this in the near future. In the meantime, let us know what you’ve found helpful in the comments below.