Chickens are Shrinking

True confession: I sometimes buy rotisserie chicken from the grocery deli. They have been on sale, off and on, for $5, so that's not too bad. I have noticed that they are smaller than they used to be, but I thought that it was because they were trying to fill the gap caused by COVID by butchering them younger. 

The one I got last time might have been 6 weeks old, or it might have been younger. I still got several meals from it because I am single, frugal and don't eat a lot of meat due to health restrictions. But still.... it was small.

I nearly always boil the carcass and pick off all the meat to get my money's worth so when I started to get the pan to boil this one, I realized it would fit into my 2 quart pan. With room to spare. 

Ok, let's look at the frugal silver lining to this cloud. It took less water and less time (energy paid for) to boil it. That's about it.

I know that chicken, rotisserie or not, is not the only thing that's been shrinking. What was a 16 ounce package is now 14 or even 12. What was a twelve count is now a 10 count. Did you ever pay attention to how much detergent is (or rather, isn't) in those pods? 

We went through this a few years back, when a pound of coffee became 14 ounces and 5 pounds of sugar became 4 pounds. Chocolate bars shrank, gas prices soared.... it's sounding familiar, isn't it? 

I don't know if it's the same old merry go round or if this is something new, but the way forward is the same. Read the labels, do the math, pay closer attention now more than ever and get your money's worth. Well, as much as you can. 

That rotisserie chicken is going to go farther than ever as I use it in soup, salads, sandwiches and casseroles into the future. It has to because either the days of $5 chicken or the days of rotisserie chickens old enough to not be called chicks have to be coming to an end. 

Stretching a Chicken

I know... visions of a chicken being stretched from its neck to its feet, right? I mean stretching a roasted chicken. If you roast a chicken whole, you can usually get one good meal from it, then a few dishes from the leftovers. The more careful you are, the more meals you can get from it.

You don't have to eat them one right after another, but if you freeze the chicken in portions, you will have it on hand for these simple and quick meal ideas: 

You can make simple chicken noodle soup by adding packaged egg noodles and frozen mixed vegetables. Add a little chicken bouillon if more flavor is needed.

Chicken and rice soup is really good on a cold day. Cook together a cup of rice, one large carrot and a couple of stalks of celery in four or five cups of water. Watch the water because it will boil away. When it's all done, add chopped chicken and enough bouillon to bring out the flavor.

A very Americanized version of fried rice with chicken goes like this: Heat a heavy skillet to medium hot, add peanut or sesame seed oil and scramble an egg in it. Add frozen vegetables of your choice, stirring until they are thawed and nearly done, then add cold rice, diced leftover chicken and a little soy sauce.

When you've used your chicken down to almost the end and don't have enough for another meal, put whatever you can get from it into a food processor or blender. Add mayonnaise or salad dressing, coarsely chopped pickles, onions and salt if it's needed. Blend it thoroughly and you will have enough for a few delicious sandwiches.

If you want to get the most from it, though, once you've stripped all the meat that you can, boil the carcass for a couple of hours then strain the bones out of it, saving the liquid. This liquid is the pricey chicken broth that you find canned at the store. You can freeze it in portions to start the soups above, adding a little salt and omitting the bouillon needed, lowering your costs even more.

Let the bones cool for a little bit, then pick through them and get all the little bits of meat out. Put it in a container for soup, stirfry, sandwiches or casserole. If you're going to freeze the meat, pour a little of the broth over it to keep it from drying out.

With the price of food any more, why not get the most from it?