Food to make when you are broke/hungry/crabby

Do you like to eat good food?  Are you broke?  Do you have too many dang mouths to feed?

Chicken and Garlic Stew is your best friend.

I made this last night, and I always forget just how good it is, and just how cheap it is, and just how many people it feeds (LOTS.)

This is from one of the best cookbooks on earth, Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything.*

First, you need to go get a whole chicken and cut it up.  I do not like to cut up a whole chicken myself because it always makes me cranky, so I either a) buy it pre-cut up at a store that does that (not WalMart) or b) but a package of drums and a package of split breast/thighs.  The second ou ption is what I purchased last night, and the whole amount cost me $9.08, and I saved four drums for later** and put the boney back part into my stock-making freezer bag.  It's like I live on a farm, you guys!

Second, you need to buy AT LEAST two whole heads of garlic.  Less than a buck, if you have to buy them.  Use more garlic if you like.  We do.

Then:  Get out your big deep pan (or fancy casserole if you have one) and pour in two tablespoons of oil, then put in all the chicken in, plus shake some allspice (about a tablespoon) and some salt and pepper.  If you have  some fresh parsley that is nice to add, all chopped and fancy.  Finally, break open your garlic heads and put all of the cloves in.  You don't need to open every clove up, just make sure there isn't any garlic paper flaking around.  Pour in 1/2 a cup of white wine (or stock or apple juice) and put the whole thing on the stove over medium high. 

Bring it to a boil (it goes fast, because there isn't very much liquid) then cover it and reduce the heat to medium low and simmer for, like, 90 minutes.  (Until the chicken won't kill you.)

Then put all the chicken and all the garlic on a tray, and eat it all.  The garlic is so squishy and delicious and if you want to go super fancy, squish it onto some crusty bread.  We just eat it whole.


*This is one of the few cookbooks I use all the time.  If you only can have one book, this is it.
**you could throw in extra drums, but they won't fit in my pan.