This is my way to eat meat when on a serious budget.

You need a whole chicken and a very good knife.

Cut the chicken. Separate the drumsticks, the thighs, the wings, the breast. The rest can just be chopped in two so that it's more manageable. You will need a heavy blow to do that.

Breast: Carefuly separate the meat from the bone. Chop the bone in two (all you want is to make it manageable).

Options for the breast:
1. Breaded chops. One whisked egg in a dish, breadcrumbs in another. Slice the chicken breast thinly, pass first through the egg and then through the breadcrumbs, and fry. The oil must be very hot for the first minute, so that the crumbs don't soak up too much, but then the stove shoul be turned down, quite low, so that they can get done in the inside. You can easily get 4 to 6 pieces this way, enough for two to four people if there are balanced, filling side dishes (salad, potatoes, rice, pasta...)
2. Stir-fries. Cut in thin stripes and stir fry with plenty of vegetables. Serve with rice. How many servings you get depends on the amount of veggies you use.

Drumsticks, thighs, wings.
3. Cook a casserole. This will take time if you don't have a pressure cooker. Fry an onion in a big pan, set aside, use the same pan to fry slightly the chicken. All you need is to get it white on the outside. I prefer to skin the chicken, but not everybody does.

Re-incorporate the onion. Add a glass of water and keep watching it so that it doesn't go dry. Clean, peel, chop whatever vegetables are available. To me, carrots are a must, but nearly anything works. Once all your vegetables are ready, add to the casserole. Add more water (and salt, and any spices that you like) as it is needed, one half-glass at a time. The chicken will be ready when you cut it and nothing looks pink inside, next to the bone. This can take 40 minutes to an hour.

You have 6 pieces of chicken, which can again feed 3 people if there's rice or potatoes, and salad.

The bones.

4. Soup. Take all the bones and fry them for seconds in a pan. This will enhance the flavour. Chop in two or four chunks an onion. Fry. Add as much garlic as you dare, and a stick of celery. Add the bones, water, and salt. This is really not enough flavour for one soup so your options are: keeping the bones from three chickens to make one stock, or adding extra flavour: spices, soy sauce.

The bones, as they don't contain much meat, are ready in less time that the chicken casserole.