Starts Sunday, Nov 15Roast chicken week

You need

• 2 whole chickens, 3½ to 4 lb each
• 4 tsp kosher salt (2 tsp per bird), plus more for the vegetables
• 2 lemons, halved
• 1 head garlic, halved across the middle
• 1 bunch thyme
• 2 tbsp unsalted butter, soft
• 2 lb small Yukon Gold potatoes, halved
• 1 lb carrots, peeled and cut into 2-inch lengths
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• Black pepper
• For the stock: both carcasses and any skin and bones from the plates, 1 onion (quartered, skin on), 2 carrots, 2 celery ribs, 2 bay leaves, 1 tsp black peppercorns, 4 quarts cold water

How to make it

1. The night before (or first thing Sunday): pat the chickens dry with paper towels, inside and out. Sprinkle 2 tsp salt over each, all over and a little inside. Set them on a plate or rack, uncovered, in the fridge. The skin dries out, which is what makes it crackle.
2. Take the chickens out of the fridge 30 minutes before roasting. Heat the oven to 425°F with a rack in the middle.
3. Toss the potatoes and carrots with the olive oil, 1 tsp salt and some pepper in your largest roasting pan or a big sheet pan. Push them to the edges to leave room for two birds.
4. Stuff each chicken with 2 lemon halves, half the garlic and half the thyme. Rub the butter over the breasts. Tie the legs together with string if you have it. Set the chickens breast side up on the pan, a few inches apart.
5. Roast 65 to 80 minutes, turning the vegetables once halfway. The chickens are done when a thermometer in the thickest part of the thigh (not touching bone) reads 175°F and the juices run clear. The breast should read at least 160°F; it rises to 165°F as it rests.
6. Lift the chickens onto a board, tilting them so the lemony juices from inside run back into the pan. Rest 15 minutes. Keep the vegetables warm in the turned-off oven.
7. Carve the first chicken for dinner. Pull every bit of meat off the second while it's still warm, skin aside, and shred it into bite-size pieces. You want about 5 cups, with any meat left from the first bird.
8. Pour the pan juices and fat into a jar. In the fridge the fat rises and sets on top: that's Thursday's fried-rice fat. The jelly underneath is gold; stir it into Monday's soup.
9. The stock: put both carcasses, the skin and bones, the onion, carrots, celery, bay and peppercorns in your biggest pot with the 4 quarts cold water. Bring to a boil, skim off any grey foam, then turn it down so it barely bubbles. Simmer uncovered 2½ to 3 hours while you eat and clean up.
10. Strain through a fine sieve and discard the solids. You'll have about 3 quarts. Cool it uncovered, then refrigerate 2 quarts for Monday and 2 cups for Tuesday, and freeze the rest.
11. Divide the shredded chicken: 1½ cups for Monday and 2 cups for Tuesday in the fridge, 1½ cups for Thursday in the freezer.

No thermometer? Pierce the thigh where it meets the body: the juices should run clear, not pink, and the leg should wiggle loosely.

Cooked chicken and stock keep 3 to 4 days in the fridge. That's why Thursday's chicken goes in the freezer.

You need

• 2 quarts chicken stock (from Sunday), plus the jelly from the pan jar
• 1½ cups shredded chicken (from Sunday)
• 2 tbsp olive oil or chicken fat
• 1 medium yellow onion, diced
• 3 carrots, sliced into coins
• 2 celery ribs, sliced
• 2 garlic cloves, sliced
• 1½ tsp kosher salt, plus more to taste
• 6 oz wide egg noodles
• ½ lemon
• ¼ cup chopped dill
• Black pepper

How to make it

1. Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion, carrots, celery and a pinch of salt and cook 6 to 8 minutes, stirring now and then, until the onion is soft and see-through.
2. Add the garlic for 1 minute, until you can smell it.
3. Pour in the stock and the jelly from the pan juices. Bring to a boil, add the salt, and simmer 8 minutes, until the carrots are just tender.
4. Add the noodles and cook as long as the package says, usually 6 to 7 minutes, until tender.
5. Stir in the chicken and heat 2 minutes. Taste: real stock needs more salt than you'd think. Add it a pinch at a time until the soup tastes like chicken, not water.
6. Off the heat, squeeze in the lemon and stir in the dill. Grind pepper over each bowl.

Noodles keep drinking the broth. If you'll have leftovers, cook the noodles separately and add them to each bowl.

You need

• 2 cups shredded chicken (from Sunday)
• 1 jar (16 oz) salsa verde
• ½ cup chicken stock (from Sunday)
• ½ cup Mexican crema or sour cream, plus more to serve
• 2 cups shredded Monterey Jack (8 oz)
• 10 corn tortillas
• 2 tbsp neutral oil
• ½ tsp kosher salt
• To serve: 3 scallions (sliced), 4 radishes (sliced thin), lime wedges
• Also tonight: 1½ cups long-grain white rice and 2¼ cups water, for Thursday's fried rice

How to make it

1. Heat the oven to 375°F. Whisk the salsa verde, stock and crema in a bowl. Spread ¾ cup of it over the bottom of a 9 by 13 baking dish.
2. Toss the chicken with ½ cup of the sauce, half the cheese and the salt.
3. Warm the tortillas so they roll without cracking: brush both sides lightly with oil and heat them in a dry skillet over medium-high 15 seconds a side, stacking them under a towel. (Or wrap the stack in a damp towel and microwave 45 seconds.)
4. Fill each tortilla with about 3 tbsp of the chicken, roll it up and lay it seam side down in the dish, snug together.
5. Pour the rest of the sauce over the top, covering the ends of the tortillas so they don't dry out. Scatter the rest of the cheese over it.
6. Bake 20 minutes, until the cheese has melted and the sauce bubbles at the edges. Top with scallions, radishes, more crema and a squeeze of lime.
7. While they bake, make Thursday's rice: bring the rice and 2¼ cups water to a boil with a pinch of salt, cover, turn to low for 18 minutes, then spread it on a sheet pan to cool. Refrigerate it uncovered for an hour, then cover. Cold, dry rice is what makes fried rice work.

Any good jarred salsa verde works. Taste it first; if it's very sharp, add a little more crema.

You need

• 4 cups cold cooked rice (from Tuesday)
• 1½ cups shredded chicken (from Sunday, thawed)
• 3 tbsp chicken fat from the jar (or neutral oil)
• 3 eggs, beaten with a pinch of salt
• 4 scallions, white and green parts sliced separately
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 cup frozen peas and carrots
• 2 tbsp soy sauce, plus more to taste
• 1 tsp toasted sesame oil
• ¼ tsp ground white pepper (or black)

How to make it

1. Break up the cold rice with your hands so there are no clumps. Have everything chopped and next to the stove; this goes fast.
2. Heat 1 tbsp of the fat in your largest skillet or wok over high heat until it shimmers. Pour in the eggs and scramble 30 to 45 seconds, until just set. Slide them onto a plate.
3. Add the remaining 2 tbsp fat. Add the scallion whites and garlic and stir 30 seconds.
4. Add the rice, spread it out, and leave it alone 1 minute so it toasts. Then stir and toss 3 to 4 minutes, until every grain is hot and some are crisp.
5. Add the chicken and the peas and carrots and toss 2 minutes, until hot through.
6. Drizzle the soy sauce around the edge of the pan (it sizzles and toasts), add the eggs back, breaking them up, and toss. Season with the sesame oil and white pepper. Taste and add soy if it needs it. Scatter the scallion greens over the top.

Crowding steams the rice. If your pan is small, fry it in two batches.