Chicken
soup
We enjoyed the chicken with a variety of vegetables and small roast potatoes.
Tonight, slices of meat will be carved and cut to cook with pasta in a tasty sauce. Tomorrow, more chicken will join lettuce, cucumber, blueberries, avocado, strawberries, olives, watercress, rocket, and spinach in a satisfying salad. The following day, chicken and salad sandwiches will be on the menu.
Finally, the carcase and any remaining meat will be transformed by the pressure cooker into a delicious broth. After several hours, the bones will be soft and easy to crush.
Once it is cool, the bones will be mashed into a thick soup, but this is not for human consumption. I don’t like chicken soup – it repeats on me, which is most unpleasant. (Apparently this is called ‘rumination syndrome’ – mine is mild!) The soup is principally for the dogs, with a little for the cats. It is a treat we make for them two or three times a month, as a change from their usual fare.
They are very happy dogs when they realise they are having a special treat. We give it to them for their breakfast as there is still a great deal of liquid in the soup. The dogs need the hours during the day to deal with the consequential expansion of their guts and the possibility of having to go outside more frequently than usual.
Your menu (except for the soup for dogs) sounds perfect to me.
ReplyDeleteIt means I don't have to think too hard about 'what's for supper!'
DeleteSo the entire house gets a fine meal, or meals.
ReplyDeleteThat salad sounds dee-lish!
That's the idea!
DeleteMy in laws ran a kitchen shop in Australia during the 1950s and 60s. So their children, still living at home, became experts on defeathering, chopping and home-delivering chickens. He says he was a world expert on using chicken frames for soups back then :)
ReplyDeleteI remember my mother plucking chicken, just twice a year, at Christmas and Easter. Those were the only times chickens were available to buy.
DeleteA beautifully resourceful use of a roast chicken, providing delicious meals for the household and a nourishing treat for the pets—no wonder the dogs and cats are so delighted!
ReplyDeleteThey certainly appreciate it.
DeleteI remember way back when a chicken had enough meat to last for several days and the carcass was always made into soup. These days, to feed a family you'd have to roast two chickens, there seems to be so little meat. Or maybe people just eat more? Mnay times I have been to the butcher and just bought two or three carcasses and made soup.
ReplyDeleteI never thought about crushing the cooked bones as food for the pets.
I think people probably do eat more these days, and perhaps the chickens are leaner.
DeleteOh Janice - that sounds so good ... all round - my parents reared chickens and so we always had fresh chicken on tap (so to speak) ... and made soup thereafter - we didn't mash the bones ... but makes perfect sense. Chicken soup for the soul = definitely what I needed to heal ... good times for all ahead - cheers Hilary
ReplyDeleteI hope you're having plenty of chicken soup to build you up, Hilary. Keep well.
DeleteSounds like pet perfection, and a way to waste nothing from the bird.
ReplyDeleteThey certainly appreciate it.
DeleteNow that's proper thrifty cooking. I had a recipe with recipes for 'the elastic chicken '; how to get more meals out of a single chicken.
ReplyDelete'Elastic chicken' is a good name.
DeleteChicken soup for the dogs, not for the soul.
ReplyDeleteYou got it!
ReplyDeleteI like to purchase whole rotisserie chickens. I get quite a few meals out of one chicken and it sounds a lot like how you used yours up. I've never heard of making a soup like that for the dogs.
ReplyDeleteThey get all the goodness from the bone marrow.
ReplyDeletewow that must be a hefty chicken to provide all of those meals! Good idea to boil and mash the bones!
ReplyDeleteWe eat more vegetables than meat, so it goes a long way.
DeleteI've tried to give my dog some human foods. There's only a couple that he can eat without getting sick for days.
ReplyDeleteSome human foods are quite unsuitable for dogs, it's true.
DeleteThe thought of your chicken meals makes my mouth water ... the dogs' (and cats') soup, not so much :-) Nevertheless, I'm please to read that not a morsel of that chicken has been wasted! xxx
ReplyDeleteI'm not very keen on chicken and prefer it cold.
DeleteIt sounds like a delicious few days for both you and your furry companions.
ReplyDeleteMy latest post: Zoological parks
Yes, they appreciate it.
DeleteYummy -Christine cmlk79.blogspot.com
ReplyDeleteThey enjoy it.
DeleteI have heard that conventional chicken bones are not good for pets, so good for you for finding a way to make them edible.
ReplyDeleteWe make sure the bones are completely soft, so that no splinters remain.
DeleteChicken is so nutritious and usually reasonably priced.
ReplyDeleteI do like it that all of your household get to enjoy some.
All the best Jan
It is still quite a reasonable price, but for how much longer? Everything is going up - very hard for young families on limited incomes.
DeleteThat must have been a good-sized chicken! I can imagine how pleased your pets were with your chef's skills. I've just looked up rumination - I knew about ruminants (the animals) who have this as a vital part of digestion, but was unaware it could happen to humans - how unsettling!
ReplyDeleteAt least we don't have to chew the cud!
DeleteWhat a kind dog mummy you are Janice! Crushed chicken bone soup for breakfast! Yummy!
ReplyDeleteNo accounting for taste!
DeleteSuch an exciting time for the dogs. I can't believe how many meals for two you can get out of one chicken. Maybe yours are sold larger than ours.
ReplyDeleteWe eat more vegetables than meat, so a chicken goes quite far.
DeleteThat sounds like lots of lovely meals with even your own animals enjoying a tasty treat.
ReplyDeleteThey certainly appreciate every last morsel.
Delete