A Whole Chicken...and Then Some

In the kitchen, feeling industrious and nest-y...I'm fixin' chicken.

I bought a whole 5 lb young chicken.  (note I said "bought"...I can't bring myself to butcher my own {yet??})

In my beautiful red enameled cast iron pot, I put in an onion, quartered;  3 carrots, peeled and cut into chunks; 2 stalks of celery, cut into chunks; 1 tablespoon salt; and if I had peppercorns here I'd have put in about 6.

I put the chicken on top of the vegetables and added water to cover.  (Pot too shallow...couldn't "cover" ...it worked anyway..a big stock pot would have been a better choice...not as pretty, though).   Put the lid on and heated to boiling, then reduced to simmer and let 'er simmer for about 1-1/4 hrs.

Then I let it cool.  Once the chicken was cool enough to handle, I removed the chicken to a big bowl.  I strained the stock into another large pot (I'll freeze the stock to use another time, I got about 10 cups).  I discarded the cooked vegetables.

I removed the meat from the bones into a big bowl (I got about 7-8 cups of shredded chicken).  Skin and fat went into one little bowl (may give the dogs a treat later, not sure).  Bones went into another little bowl to be thrown away.

Tonight's supper:  Chicken wraps for 2

1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 medium onion, chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
3 mushrooms, sliced
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tablespoons cup half and half
2 cups cooked chicken
2 flour tortillas

Heat oil in skillet on med-high heat.  Saute onion and celery for about 3 or 4 minutes then add the mushrooms and garlic.  Cook for just a couple minutes more then add half & half and the chicken.  Stir till it's all mixed well.

Spoon into 2 softened flour tortillas (I had enough filling to make 3) and roll them up.  Serve!!  We had these wraps with a green salad.  Banana cake cupcakes for dessert.





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