Simple Stew

Today's recipe is basically an exercise in using up leftovers and turning them into something new. Over the weekend, I got one of those $5 Rotisserie Chickens. I'd already eaten both legs and peeled off the breast meat to save for sandwiches later. Instead of throwing away the remaining carcass, however, I tossed it into a pot for stew. There was still plenty of meat on there as I didn't bother stripping the bones cleanly before, and bones make for great soup stock. You can do this with all sorts of things. One of my favorite things to do this with is Pork Shoulder, which comes at just $1.29/lb. It's cheap because the meat is tougher and unsuitable for grilling like pork chops, but drop one of those in a pot for stew and after simmering for a few hours, will be so tender that it falls apart the moment you touch it.

-=Simple Stew=-

Leftover Chicken (I used ~1/5 of the whole chicken)
6 oz Creamer Potatoes
2 stalks Celery
2 Nappa leaves
1/2 Zucchini
1 small Onion
Salt
Garlic Powder
Onion Powder

First, start boiling a pot of water. You can put the potatoes in right away as they take a while to cook through. I used probably ~3 cups of water for this. As the water is heating, start chopping the onion and celery, and cutting the Zucchini into chunks. As you finish chopping each vegetable, go ahead and toss it right in. Let it boil for a bit, then drop in the chicken* and turn the heat down to LOW. Add salt, garlic powder, and onion powder to taste. Lastly, chop up the Nappa and toss it in. Be sure to stir the whole thing periodically so the stuff on the bottom doesn't get burnt. Once everything is cooked and heated, you're done! In my case, this took 15 minutes start to finish. Note that the picture only shows the one bowl I ate for dinner. There's still enough in the pot for at least one more bowl. Stick that in the fridge and you've got another night's dinner.

*An optional thing you can add is the drippings from the cooked chicken. If you've ever bought one, you might have noticed all the juices sitting in the bottom of the container. That stuff contains pretty much all the flavor of the chicken in it, and is basically what chicken stock is made from. If you're trying to cut back on fat though, don't put it in and just go with a few bouillon cubes instead.

Cost:
Chicken: $5 per chicken --> ~ 1/5 of the chicken => $1.00
Potatoes: 1.99/lb --> ~6 oz => $0.75
Celery: $1.49 each --> 2 stalks off the whole thing => ~0.15
Nappa: $1.69/lb --> 2 leaves => I have no clue, it's probably like $0.05
Zucchini: 1.29/lb --> 1/2 Zucchini is maybe 1/4 lb? => $0.32
Onion: $2.29 for a 2 lb bag --> 1 onion => ~$0.38

Total Cost: $2.65 ($1.33 per meal)


Well, there you have it. A quick stew that'll last you two nights. There's all sorts of variations you can make on this basic idea. Switch up the vegetables by using carrots, bell peppers, various mushrooms, pearl onions, scallions, cabbage, bok choy, or yellow squash. Don't feel like using chicken? Try that Pork Shoulder I mentioned before (that'll make enough to last a solid week) or perhaps a Beef Top Round Roast. The possibilities are endless. This is Jet, signing off. Happy cooking!