I had a plan, formulated after reading several food magazines. I would roast a chicken and have a hot dinner from it the first night and then use the remains for several other meals.
This was the plan:
Dinner One
Roasted chicken (simpll done, stuffed with lemons, parsley, and garlic, with olive oil and lemon juice squeezed over it, and some salt and pepper). Cooked at 350 until the skin is crisp and the meat is just cooked through.
A baked sweet potato, cooked beside the chicken
Arugula salad dressed with lemon juice and olive oil
Dinner Two
Sliced cold chicken breast with Mango Chutney and Raita (Yogurt, Shredded Cucumber, and a bit of Cayenne and Cumin)
A Baked Russet Potato to share the Raita
Lightly Cooked String Beans
Dinner Three
A Play on Salad Nicoise
Slices of Chicken with Quarters of Hard-Boiled Egg, Tomato, String Beans, Thin Slices of Red Onion, Slices of Potato (a second baked potato, made with the one for Dinner Two), all drizzled with a dressing of olive oil, red wine vinegar, chopped shallots, and a bit of Dijon Mustard.
Crusty Bread
Dinner Four
Everything that's left of the chicken (including the bones), cut into two-inch pieces and tossed into a soup pot in which a chopped onion, two chopped carrots, and 2 chopped stalks of celery are sauteeing in a few tablespoons of butter. Toss them with the vegetables and add a quart of chuicken stock (from the grocery store is fine). Season with bay leaf and thyme and perhaps some fresh parsley and dill. Go easy on the salt and pepper -- the chicken has some already. Cook it all for 90 minutes. Strain the soup and discard the solids. Serve the soup with your favorite pasta -- I particularly like the fresh filled pastas you can buy at the supermarket in the dairy case. Offer grated Parmesan and crunchy bread -- and salt and pepper to taste.
That was the plan. The reality was that I fell asleep after I put the chicken up to roast and awakened after it had been in the oven for nearly three hours. Fortunately, I didn't burn down the house, but my ideas of a string of meals all made easy by previous efforts went from the roasting pan into the garbage can and I had a cheese sandwich for dinner!
