Monday, April 2, 2012

1 Chicken = 1 Week of Lunches

Roasting Two chickens is just as easy as roasting One. So on Sunday Night why not throw two chickens in the oven . . . eat one for dinner and use the other one for 5+ days worth of lunches. Actually from Two Chickens I can squeeze out, Sunday Night dinner, A chicken pot pie on Monday and 5+ lunches for the week!
I would much rather roast an extra chicken then buy chicken from the deli counter at the grocery store, there's not extra preservatives and you know exactly how fresh it is!!! Plus it tastes WAY better!
Day 1:
Two Roasted Chicken Sandwiches with Pesto Mayo.
I was recently as a birthday party with sandwiches, each sandwich had a bit of Pesto Mayo on them. It was something I thought I wouldn't like . . . but they were delicious!  You can make your own pesto or you can use jarred pesto it's up to you!
We take 1 heaping Tablespoon of Pesto to every 1/2 cup of mayo (Add a little bit at a time because it can get overpowering fast!)
It takes 1 chicken breast, on crusty bread, topped with tomatoes, and garden greens.
Day 2:
Three Chicken Salad Sandwiches (5 if you use smaller Artisan Bread like we did).
You'll need about 1 cup of chopped chicken, 1 stalk of celery, 1/4 to 1/2 cup of mayo (depending how mayo-y you like your chicken salad, fresh cracked pepper and some coarse salt.

Day 3:
Field Greens Salad with 1 Chicken Breast sliced, Mandarin orange slices, red pepper and poppy seed dressing.
Day 4:
Greek Chicken Wraps (3 BIG ones). You'll need some Whole Wheat wraps, tzatziki, some white Chicken, field greens, feta cheese and *Greek Salad.
* Greek Salad Recipe
1 Red pepper (because I like red peppers more then green, 1/2 a cucumber, 1/2 a carton of cherry tomatoes, 1/4 of a red onion, a pinch of dried oregano, 2 tablespoons olive oil, 3 tbsp balsamic vinegar.

Day 5:
It's up to you, I say that because we had enough chicken leftover to make another Salad with chicken (I took field greens topped them with chicken, and leftover Greek salad, finished with Greek dressing!
We also had a little more pesto mayo and just enough chicken for 1 last sandwich!

I hope you can find this useful! All of the lunches were Delicious, Healthy and easy to make! Give'em a try, especially the pesto mayo!

How I Roast a Chicken: 
Take both chickens and rinse them off under cold water, dry well!
Chop two large onions, and slice 1 lemon, stuff the chopped onion and lemon slices up the chicken (the onion and lemon don't give a ton of flavor but they give a ton of moisture so that your chicken doesn't dry out!).
Cover the outside of the chicken, with a little butter, get it under the skin too!
A generous sprinkling of Salt and Pepper (be very generous)
If I have a little fresh rosemary around I'll chop that up and sprinkle that on too (I don't love dried rosemary on chicken).
Crank up the oven . . . 400 degrees or so. Cook for 10 minutes at 400, then turn the oven down to 350, and roast until the meat thermometer reads almost done, take out chickens, tent with tin foil and leave to cook the rest of the way through on the counter (chickens will keep cooking for a bit after they are taken out of the oven so take them out a little premature, or you'll have dry chicken! 15 minutes should do it). By cooking the chicken at 400 for 10 minutes you'll crisp up the skin and it will seal in all of the juices, making for a juicier chicken (have I mentioned I hate dry chicken??).
Cooking times are going to vary depending on what type of oven you have, ours is gas it takes about an hour and a half give or take! Your meat thermometer is your best friend when roasting a chicken!
And that's how I roast a chicken! No basting, and instead of trussing the chicken I just break off the wing tips that would otherwise burn! I hope that helps!!!

* If you're going to make a whole week of chicken lunches, you might want to consider freezing the roasted chicken you'll be using later in the week! Anything staying longer then 3 days in your fridge! 

28 comments:

  1. Mmmmm, I see chicken in my future.... hahaha. :)

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  2. My record number of meals from 1 chicken was 16. I never buy breasts on their own, I always buy a whole chicken and roast everything else for lunches. So much better value!

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  3. Ashli - the cooked chicken is ok kept just in the fridge for the whole week?
    Vicky

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    1. Hi Vicky,
      Most of the time our spare chicken doesn't make it until Friday it's almost always eaten by wednesday night, so I've never really thought about it before. I stretched this weeks chicken until Friday for the post :) Lee didn't get sick!

      If you are going to keep it more then 3 days I would definitely consider freezing the chicken you are going to use later in the week, roasted chicken freezes really well!
      Hope that helps
      Ashli

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  4. mmmmm... the chicken sandwich looks so yummy!! I love roasted chicken .But, I don't like the dark meat :(

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    Replies
    1. Me neither but I use the dark meat for Chicken Salad sandwiches and you can't even tell! hehe
      Ashli

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  5. YUM....Thank you for all of the possibilities!
    Do you have a good recipe for Chicken Pot Pie?

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    Replies
    1. I Do!!!!
      I'll make it this weekend for dinner and pop a post up about it next week!!!!
      ~A

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  6. Delicious! Those are some great ideas! And after you can throw the carcasses in a soup pot and make a ton of chicken noodle soup! I love how one can use every bit of the chicken in meals. I think I would get sick of that much chicken by the end of the week though hence why I usually just make one; we never fully polish it off anyway and have enough for a lunch or 2.

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  7. You had me with the first recipe! I'm sold on them all. Love your food photography. Cheers!

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  8. Love chicken meals, this is a nice way to stretch your $!

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  9. I think we have roast chicken at least every seven to ten days. It's one of our favorite meals and I always get at least three more meals from one chicken. Usually club sandwiches, chicken soup, green chilie tacos or king ranch chicken. I put mine in the crock pot without liquid and it's more like a roast chicken. The broth is more concentrated like stock too. Great for the soup.

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  10. Awesome ideas and it all looks so yummy! You are so talented in every way. If you ever find a fault/something you are super amazing at, let us know, so we'll know you're human. :-) Hahha just kidding. You are so inspiring.
    One question/comment: You are only supposed to keep cooked poultry in the fridge for a day or two (according to HealthCan's guidelines). Don't you worry about that?

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    1. Hi Tara,
      Most of the time our spare chicken doesn't make it until Friday it's almost always eaten by wednesday night, so I've never really thought about it before. I stretched this weeks chicken until Friday for the post :) Lee didn't get sick!

      If you are going to keep it more then 3 days I would definitely consider freezing the chicken you are going to use later in the week, roasted chicken freezes really well!
      Thanks for mentioning that! I'll add a note to the post about it!!
      Lots of Love
      Ashli

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  11. This is a very popular post! :o) I feel a little silly asking, but how do you roast your chicken? Is it just baked in the oven?

    Many Blessings,
    Melissa

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    1. Hi Melissa,
      I just added a How I roast a Chicken part at the end of the post, I hope it helps!!!
      But Yes I do just bake it in the oven! Lots of Butter, salt and pepper, maybe some fresh herbs if the season calls for it! ;)
      Lots of Love
      Ashli

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  12. I'm also interested in hearing how you roast your chicken. I've never done one before.

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    1. Oh, A roast chicken virgin ;) hehe just kidding!
      Roasted Chicken is one of the easiest things to do! If you don't already own a meat thermometer I would definitely suggest investing $5 or so in one! It takes all the guess work out of roasting!!!

      I added my recipe for roasted chicken onto the end of the post!
      I hope it helps you!
      Lots of Love
      Ashli

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  13. Isn't chicken one of the best things invented? It's like the Energizer bunny ...... it keeps going and going and going ..... Have a good week Ashli.

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  14. I just roasted a chicken yesterday, using this Martha recipe: http://www.marthastewart.com/326627/crisp-skinned-chicken-with-rosemary-pota. It came out great, and looked beautiful. My husband thinks he doesn't like the dark meat, so I always chop it up and use it for quesadillas, and he has no idea. Quesadillas are my go-to quick weeknight meal - easy and delicious!

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  15. Love this post! We love chicken. I usually cook extra as Kate loves it for salads and wraps for lunch. Best part, no yucky preservatives!

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  16. Great post Ashli,
    I do the same with chicken, roasting 2 at time and using the extra for lunches. But like another reader said, the carcass is great for soup stock. Having stock in the frig and the freezer makes lunches for my kids easy. They loooove soup and it's easy to change up with lentils, noodles, or potatoes & greens and whatever veggie are in the crisper~ and it cooks up pretty quick with the veggies chopped up small.
    Thanks so much for the great chicken inspiration~ I will definitely try the pesto mayo and the greek salad. I'm getting tired of chicken caesar salad~ your photos look very tempting.

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  17. Thanks for the great ideas! Love the pesto sandwich :)

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  18. Stopping by from, Megans....I'm so glad she did a post about you today!! Your blog is amazing.

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  19. Just a quick hello! Wanted to let you know I am so happy I found your blog -- your home is gorgeous! I'm a fellow Canadian, living in Toronto. Will be back soon!

    Jenny
    www.simcoestreet.blogspot.com

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  20. We do love our roasted chicken as well. I never roast a chicken though because I find they're about the same price (usually) as getting a chicken from the store. I'm in the lower mainland as well, and if you get one from Save on Foods, the ONLY ingredient put in theirs is a teaspoon of salt, right in the chicken itself. I only know that cause i worked there for 6 years! So now you do know what is in that roasted chicken. :) And they taste so delicious!!

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    1. That's great to know!
      A rotissere Chicken would be perfect for all of these recipes!!!
      Thanks!
      Ashli

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  21. Thanks for sharing awesome, healthy meal ideas. I do two at once when possible, especially if 0something like lasagna is on menu. So much easier to double ingredie6nts than to do it all twice!!

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