Chicken Week

Decided to treat ourselves a little this week so are having Roast Chicken for Monday dinner.
Although our shopping budget has shrunk a lot, I'm not willing to go back on my food ethics and start to buy cheap poultry. The same rules have to apply as before, which just means eating expensive meats like chicken less.
HFW has lead a huge campaign recently about the welfare of the chickens we eat and "Chicken out" was a great program.
I do wish he'd been a bit harsher to those people complaining about being hard up and saying that buying these intensively reared birds was a necessity for them to survive and just told them to stop eating chicken so often and buy cheaper cuts of beef / lamb and offal, or even just eat more of some of the cheapest food you can buy, local seasonal veg, but I guess that's one of the reasons he is a well known and well respected food writer and tv personality and I'm just an angry guy on the Internet ;)

Anyway, I digress...... To justify the outlay of the Chicken, we've got to make it go as far as possible (always done this, but for more for ethical, rather than cost reasons) so the plan for the chicken is:

Roast chicken on Monday, with a few veg - Mashed Potato, Roast Potato, Roast Parsnip, cabbage and carrots.

For dinner on Tuesday, going to use the left over mash and some of the chicken to make Chicken and Stuffing Rissoles with Parsnip chips.

Also going to make chicken soup for Tuesday and Wednesday lunch using home made chicken stock and whatever meat is left on the bird.

Whenever I have used a chicken in the past, either to roast or to cut up for breasts / legs etc, I keep the carcass in the freezer and when I've got enough, I make a big batch of chicken stock. The stock pot is currently bubbling away nicely in the kitchen and hopefully I'll have enough to make soup and be able to freeze some stock.

So, the expensive chicken should last 2 evening meals and 2 lunchtimes, for 2 people. 8 portions isn't bad!


Recipes (I never measure when I'm cooking, so the quantities are just "common sense")

Chicken and stuffing Rissoles with parsnip chips

Mashed Potatoes
Chicken
Stuffing
Breadcrumbs (with a little Salt and Pepper mixed in)
Eggs (whisked)
Flour (plain)
Parsnips
Oil

Cut the cooked chicken into small pieces and add to the mashed potato along with broken up stuffing. Mix well.
Roll the mix into rissole sized balls.
Roll the rissoles over the flour so they get coated, then dunk them in the egg ensuring they are fully covered.
Then put them in the breadcrumbs making sure there is a full and even covering.
Put in fridge for at least 3o mins (will hold together better during cooking)
Not long before you are ready to cook, peel parsnips and then, using a veg peeler, make crisps from the parsnips.
Deep fry rissoles in oil until Golden brown (about 5 mins)
Transfer to warm oven.
Turn the oil up, add the parsnip chips and cook for a few seconds until starting to colour. Take out and place on kitchen roll or tea towel. Note: They won't crisp up until they cool a little.
Add a little salt to them and serve up with the rissoles.