FlyLady's Rubber Chicken

I am sure everyone is familiar with FlyLady by now. I have been a subscriber for a very long time. I know the email's can be a little obsessive, but it is easy to just delete what you want and read what you like.

One thing on flylady's website that I like are the recipes--and the rubber chicken is a really great idea. I am doing the Rubber Chicken this week--I made baked chicken last night, so tonight I will use the rest of the meat, and tomorrow use the carcass for a stock. I don't follow the recipe for rubber chicken exact, I just use the idea--like tonight, I will probably make some sort of cheesy chicken casserole--I will let you know, what my creative mind comes up with.

Here is the Rubber Chicken from FlyLady:

Leanne Ely's Rubber Chicken Serves 4 for 3 days
1 chicken -- washed and patted dry (get a nice sized one)
1/2 celery rib -- cut in pieces
1 onion -- quartered
1 carrot -- cut in 2" pieces
salt, pepper, garlic powder to taste

Day One: The adventure begins--Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In the cavity of the chicken, season with salt, pepper and garlic powder and place cut up vegetables inside. Sprinkle the outside with salt and pepper and a little garlic powder, too, if you like. Cook for about an hour or longer (depending on the size of the bird) till the juices run clear. Let sit a minute and then remove the vegetables. In the meantime, if you were smart, you boiled the neck with some celery, onion and carrot and have that broth, too. To further cut down on the grease from the chicken, you could take the cooking juices and put them in a cup and refrigerate while you make the rest of the meal. This will get rid of a significant amount of chicken fat which will all rise to the top. Make a nice gravy by deglazing the pan with a little water and thicken it up with a flour/water mixture (about a tablespoon should do) Serve your wonderful chicken with Just Like Mama's Mashed Potatoes and lots and lots of veggies. Remember, you want leftover chicken.

Day Two: Let the adventure continue! Take your time and pull every last itty bitty bit of chicken of them bones. You want that chicken skeleton to look like a science project. Toss the chicken in pot with a can of black beans and season with a little cumin, some garlic powder and serve it up with lots of salsa, tortillas, some cheese--whatever turns your key! A great big salad will give you a perfect dinner.

Day Three: The adventure ends--with the skeletal remains finally hitting the stock pot. Throw in the same veggies: onion, carrots and celery, season it with salt, pepper and garlic powder and throw about 3 quarts of water over the top. Cook the daylights out of it and strain. Now make soup or store appropriately. Bet you didn't know one puny chicken had so many meals in it, did you?Remember this is Rubber Chicken, not Miracle Chicken, if you have a big family, you will need to cook more than one chicken to insure leftovers. LOL