Cooking & Baking

The cheapest way to buy chickens is usually whole, and I've gotten pretty good at breaking them down: legs and thighs go into one bag, the breasts are separated and put into their own bags, back and wing tips go into the stock pot, and I freeze the in a separate bag until I get enough to make a meal. I'm just annoyed that Costco no longer includes the giblets, necks, and livers with their whole chicken packages - the former go into the stock pot and I save the latter until I have enough to make chopped liver.

The drawback is that it's a bit messy, and my hands and the knife get slimy, so I have my sous-chef (aka Mr. Retrograde) on hand to open all the ziploc bags so I can just drop the pieces in. And afterwards - well, I'm a firm believer in soap and hot water to clean all plates, boards, and utensils.