Four People, Four Meals, Under $15

One rotisserie chicken - $6

One pound white rice - $1

One pound fresh whole carrots - $1

One stalk celery - $1

One onion - $0.50

Salad dressing (ranch, creamy Italian or Caesar) - $1

One tomato - $1

One head lettuce - $1

One loaf white bread - $1

Now, granted, you could spend more than $15 on the groceries listed, but if you shop cheap (dollar store, no name brands, etc.) it is possible.

Day 1 – Dinner

Cut off legs and wings, separate thighs and drumsticks, serve hot for dinner with rice and salad.

Day 2 – Lunch

Carefully remove breasts, slice for sandwiches.  This will make lunch for four people.  Don't forget to put lettuce on those sandwiches!

Day 2 – Dinner

Remove all remaining meat from bones.  Chop 1-2 cups meat and set aside.  Place carcass, gristle, skin, etc. in a large pot (be sure to include some fat).  Add one carrot, one rib of celery, half an onion, all chopped.  Pour in 3-4 quarts water, add salt and bring to a boil.  Turn down heat and simmer 30-60 minutes.  Remove bones.  Pour broth through sieve into a 1-quart storage container to freeze for later use.  Add uncooked rice to the remaining broth in pot.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.  Cover and simmer for another 10 minutes or until rice is tender.  Serve with salad.

While the soup is cooking, place chopped chicken in a large bowl.  Add finely chopped vegetables – carrot, celery, onion & tomato.  Add enough salad dressing to hold together and season to taste.  Place in fridge for tomorrow’s lunch.

Day 3 – Lunch

Get out that chicken salad and make sandwiches.  This will feed at least two people and maybe more, depending on how thick you spread that salad.

Day 4 – Another meal somewhere down the road

Remember that quart of broth you put in the freezer?  Take it out and use your imagination – chicken noodle soup?  A base for a light pasta sauce?  It’s up to you!

Oh, and you don't have to eat this three days in a row.  Put that freezer to work, just don't make the chicken salad until you're ready to eat it - it won't freeze well.

Looking to get fancier with that chicken?  Here are a couple of links for tasty recipes:

http://family.go.com/food/pkg-quick-easy-recipes/rotisserie-chicken-recipes-pg/view-all/

http://www.parents.com/recipes/cooking/family-favorites/easy-rotisserie-chicken-recipes/

Squirrel! (no happy ending)

Last weekend, child number one came to me and said "I think there is something in the chimney."  Knowing that the damper didn't fit properly, and that there were leaves in the fireplace, I suggested to her that what she heard was simply the wind rustling the leaves in the fireplace.  We listened intently, but heard nothing, so dismissed the subject and went back to the business of the day.

Well, two days later, the cats started saying "I think there is something in the chimney."  Now of course they can't actually talk, but they most definitely said this.  I heard them loud and clear, when I found both of them sitting in the fireplace staring up at the not-quite-closed damper.  By this time, our little "friend" was getting a bit frantic, and even I could hear him rattling around in there.  What to do?

I have mixed feelings about squirrels.  They are cute and fun to watch.  My family raised one from a baby when I was a kid.  I used to enjoy visiting the Capitol and feeding the squirrels on the lawn.  BUT, they are destructive little animals!  You can't feed the birds unless you spend insane amounts of time and money trying to outsmart them.  If they decide that your attic is the best place to have their next litter, look out.  They'll eat their way in again and again, no matter what you do to keep them out.  Even so, I'm not the type to just let an animal die; that's almost the same as killing it yourself.  So the rescue operation was underway.

First, I looked online - lots of people saying that squirrels liked to nest in chimneys, and various suggestions on keeping them out (mainly involving getting a chimney cap - Hey! There's an idea!).  This squirrel definitely was not nesting.  Also found lots of people who already have squirrels in their chimneys and were looking for a way to get them out.  Nothing really helpful.  So, I called Animal Control.  I've got an animal that needs to be controlled, right?  NO!  He's in the chimney, which is not an occupied dwelling, so they can't help me.  OK, next step.  I called one of those critter removal services.  Can't cost more than about $50 to get this thing out of there, right?  Man with ladder drops rope down chimney, squirrel climbs out to safety.  NO!  Would you believe more than $200?  And that doesn't include the actual removal of the animal.  But it does include as many visits as necessary to get it out.  Now, I was trying to come up with a way to rescue the little guy, but that's going too far.

So now, I'm in the position of trying to open the damper and get out the pile of leaves and sticks that have fallen in there, and also remove the body of our expired visitor.  At least I think he's expired . . . it's been quiet for a couple of days now, and the cats are no longer interested in the fireplace.