If you're trying to save money while still fixing tasty meals, you know the advantage of using leftovers wisely. Here's a great tip: whole chickens!

If you get them on sale, you can buy whole chickens for less than a dollar per pound. And with most chickens weighing in at 3 or 4 pounds, you'll be getting several meals for less than $5. Not bad!

Step one: cook the chicken. Take one whole chicken, and put it in a pot with enough water to cover fully. Add any vegetables you may have lying around in the fridge—even limp celery and onions are fine—maybe a clove of garlic and a bay leaf—and let the chicken and water simmer until the meat is no longer pink. This is the start of a great chicken soup! You've just made a terrific stock.

Take out the chicken and remove all meat from the bones. Reserve 2 cups of meat for chicken soup and divide the rest into 1 ½ cup portions. One batch could be used for chicken-pasta-mayonnaise salad. Just mix in cooked pasta, some mayo and a couple chopped veggies. Another batch could be used for a chicken pot pie, a chicken-on-lettuce salad, enchiladas….when you've got cooked chicken, you are half way there!

Back to the pot of chicken stock. Put all the bones back in the pot and simmer for an hour. At the very end, add a tablespoon of vinegar. This'll help get the last of the minerals out of the bones and into the broth.

Pour the broth into a large bowl, using a colander to strain out the bones and other solids. Allow the broth to chill overnight—this'll allow the fat to rise to the top—and next day, you have wonderful, rich chicken broth to add to your cut-up chicken for an amazing soup. Stir in some pasta, some canned beans, frozen veggies—whatever you like.

And to think: that all came from one chicken!