Chicken Pizza x2

For homemade pizza, I use the recipe on the back of the yeast package. Really crust options are only limited by your imagination. Vivian likes hers on pita bread.

For a 12-14 inch pizza

Greek Chicken

1/2 c diced cooked chicken
1/2 bell pepper, diced
1/4 medium onion cut into thin strips
olives
feta cheese (only 1/2 c. max)
mozzarella cheese
pizza sauce.
Sprinkle with oregano

My only advice on pizza assembly, put the cheese on before the toppings. This stops cheese from burning and cooks your toppings better.

Chicken, Bacon and Pineapple

1/2 c chicken
1/2 c. pineapple bits
3 slices bacon cooked and crumbled
mixture of mozzarella cheese and cheddar
pizza sauce

Waldorf Chicken Salad

This is by far my favorite chicken salad recipe. The apple lets you stretch your meat a bit further. I eat it plain, on a sandwich, on lettuce, or in a wrap. It stores well in the fridge for a couple days. I've also added celery or craisins to mix things up.

1/4 c walnuts, chopped and toasted
1/3 c plain yogurt
1 T mayonnaise
2 t lemon juice
1 t Dijon Mustard
1 t minced fresh thyme
1 c cooked chicken, chopped
1 medium apple, peeled and diced

Mix all together. Serves 4.

Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup

4 c. chicken broth
2 c. water
2 carrots, peeled and diced (lazy people...or a couple handfuls of baby carrots)
1 stalk celery diced
1-2 cups dried egg noodles (they are wide one)
1 cup diced or shredded roasted chicken

In a pot bring broth and water to a boil. Add carrot and celery. Cook for 15 minutes, till carrots are fork tender. Add in noodles and cook as long as the package directions says. Add chicken, and cook till chicken is heated.

Barbecue Chicken Sandwich

This is stupid simple to do.

1 1/2 - 2 cups chopped or shredded roasted chicken
bottled barbecue sauce
hamburger buns

Toss the chicken with barbecue sauce (1/4 of a cup to start, but you may want to add more). Heat in the microwave stopping after a minute to stir then cooking till hot. You could also heat it on the stove. Serve on hamburger bun with toppings of choice.

Chicken Broth

Start with what's left of your roasted chicken. Pick off all the meat and save it for another meal later in the week. put the skin, bones and whatever bits (liver, heart and unidentified stuff) you found in the bird the day before into a large pot. Toss in a carrot, celery stalk and onion all chopped into large pieces. Add some salt, pepper and parsley if you have some. Fill with water till covered (maybe 8 cups or more). Bring is all to a boil. Once its boiling reduce to medium low and cook for 45 minutes to an hour. Once its cool a bit, pour through a strainer into a pot or pitcher.

Storage
I pour my broth into mason jars leaving about an inch of space at the top. Tupperware works too. As does a heavy duty Ziploc bag. I put half in the freezer for another day and the rest in the fridge to make soup with later in the week.

Roasted Chicken

You have two options when it comes to roasted chicken. You can buy a roasted chicken at the deli at your grocery store for around $6.00. Then you can do it the old fashion way and buy an entire chicken and roast it yourself at home. Chickens at my grocery store are $5.00 or so. In this series of chicken recipies it really doesn't matter which way you go. Both grocery store and home cooking will taste pretty good, and the cost savings isn't much of a factor.
That said, here is my method for roasting a chicken.

For Chicken
1 t salt
1/2 t. pepper
1 3-4 pound chicken, rinsed and patted dry
3 T butter, melted

Put a rack in the middle of the oven, and heat over to 400 degrees.
stir together salt and pepper in a small cup. Rub on the inside and outside of the chicken. Place chicken on its  a rack in a roasting pan. (see picture below)
Place in oven and cook for 25 minutes. Turn chicken to lay on the other side. Roast for 25 more minutes. Place chicken breast up, and cook another 20 minutes or until temp in the thigh is 170 degrees.
Remove from oven. Put tin foil over it and let stand for 15 minutes. This will prevent all the yummy juices from leaking out when you cut into the meat, and it will let the chicken cook a little more.

After you're dine with dinner, save the skin and bones. We'll use them to make broth tomorrow. Your dinner companions may think you're weird, but really we're just frugal. And wise dang it!