Kelly was asking what to make with an uncut-up whole chicken. They are 49¢ a pound in her local store. Well, that is such a good price, I would buy at least two if you can afford it.
To bake it, I just take the paper off, wash it, and put it in a big pan and bake it. I put mine in frozen without a lid. Well, heck, I always cook things frozen. I mean if it is thawed out, then that is better. But I would just put the oven on about 350º to kill it. I mean if it's frozen, it will take a while to bake it. I would put it on about 350º for about an hour. Then at about 200º for about an hour. Well, it depends on how stubborn the bird is and how big. But put the bird in, upside down, with the breasts down in the pan with some water. When it is done, cut the breasts off ... OUCH! Ain't that barbaric! Oh, well! Anyway, then you could use the white meat for whatever you usually use it for.
Then you have the rest of the bones and meat. So just put the carcass in a big pot on the stove and cover it with water. Cook this meat on the stove until all the meat falls off the bones. You are making a soup stock or broth and this can be used just like the cans of broth in the store. To the chicken water, just add herbs and spices. Put in about a tsp of salt and black pepper. Some onion and carrots or green peppers. Maybe some garlic or celery. Cook this about an hour or simmer it for the day.
When it is all done, get out your strainer and a big bowl. Pour this soup, with the bones and chicken and veggies, into a strainer with the bowl underneath. The broth that comes through is just plain broth like you get in the store. Now in your strainer will be hunks of meat. Just pick the meat out and use it for casseroles or for soup or whatever. The rest of the stuff in the strainer, I would throw away. I would feed it to the cat, if Peggy or Chance would eat it, but they won't.
The broth can be frozen and used for making gravy or soup or stew.
To make a chicken gravy:
Just get out your big cast iron skillet and put some grease in it, about a Tbs or 2. Then put in about a fourth cup of flour and mix it good with the grease. Then throw in about 3 cups of the homemade chicken broth. Stir constantly until it bubbles. If it gets too thick, add some milk to thin it down to a gravy. Just add salt and pepper.
Now, this gravy can be used just like canned cream of chicken soup. I would make up some baking powder biscuits and have biscuits and gravy. Just serve this with mashed potatoes or a few cans of vegetables to make a nice hardy meal for a large family.
