Using every bit of a chicken has been one of my favorite things to implement into our weekly meals. I like to see how many meals I can make using leftover meat from roasting or using the broth from the bones in various ways. To start, I decide if we want to roast the bird in the oven or throw the whole thing in a crockpot with water to make a broth. Roasting tips: I keep it simple here. I salt the chicken a few hours before cooking which helps makes the skin extra crispy. When I’m ready to cook, I heat the oven to 400 and place my cast iron in to preheat. You want your cast iron to be very hot before adding the chicken to it. To make the meal more complete, I place chopped veggies around the chicken. Next, oil your chicken and surrounding veggies then season to your preference and throw the whole thing in the oven for about an hour. I highly recommend investing in a meat thermometer.

Save the bones and carcass from your meal and store in freezer until ready to make bone broth. To make the broth, follow the next instructions omitting the full chicken, and placing your bones in the pot instead.

If you skip straight to the broth: put your chicken, veggies scraps, half and onion, carrots and celery (optional) handful of garlic bulbs and 3 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar in a crockpot or large pot over the stove. Fill the pot with water until the chicken is mostly or completely covered. I let this cook for 18-24 hours. The longer I cook, the better the flavor. The broth also tends to be gelatinous when it cools (like it should be) the longer it cooks. When you are ready to process it, pull the chicken off the bones with tongs and strain the liquid into a glass container.

Now you have leftovers for other meals! Here are a few ideas of what to do with them:
with the chicken:
chicken salad
chicken tacos
add the chicken to a soup
Chicken bbq sandwiches
blend the following from the broth to make a soup: carrots, onion chicken and a little broth

broth:
cook grains in broth
soup
I love sipping on the broth straight
savory oatmeal (replace the water with broth and add savory toppings like eggs, bacon, peppers, etc. This is a favorite in our home)

Using up the chicken like this has made meal prepping easier and more enjoyable as the options for what you can do with the leftovers is practically limitless, allowing you to switch things up and keep meals exciting and new!