It's Frugal Friday!Mmmm, there is nothing more satisfying than a chicken soup on a cool day! Here's how we are frugal with chicken...Costco sells precooked whole chickens for $4.99 each. On a busy shopping day, this makes a super easy quick meal at an affordable price. Albertson's may have a similar deal from time to time. Check with your grocery store and see if they do this.
We eat the chicken with some mashed potatoes and vegetables and some sort of fruit dish. Then my husband de-bones the chicken for me and saves the bones. I freeze or refrigerate the chicken meat. Then if I have time, I start a stock pot of chicken stock. If I don't have time, I put the bones in the freezer for another day.
I put the bones in the pot with three tablespoons of apple cider vinegar, cover them with water and let them soak for an hour before I turn on the heat. This starts the process of drawing all the minerals out of the bones. After an hour I add more water, as much as I think I can store in my freezer. I add one carrot cut up, one onion cut up, one piece of celery cut up and turn the heat up to let it simmer. I let it simmer for 24 hours to three days, checking it occasionally to see if I need to add water. If you use a stock pot you shouldn't loose much water. I skim the stuff that floats to the top. At the end I throw in a bunch of parsley and boil it for 10 ten minutes. Using a fine mesh strainer lined with cheese cloth and a canning funnel, I fill my jars leaving head room for expansion when it freezes. Now you have a wonderful broth for soup base!
With the left over chicken and some vegetables and noodles you have a wonderful soup. You can make several pots of soup with it....Not bad for the cost of a carrot, stalk of celery, an onion, some parsley and a $4.99 chicken!
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