I bought an 8 pound (3.6 kg) chicken the other day. I partially deboned it, placing the wing tips, neck, and carcass into a stock pot with some vegetables and aromatics, and made some stock, and set aside the meat.
Dinner 1: One boneless breast, probably about 1.5 lbs (0.7 kg), got cut up into cubes to cook into a soup noodle dish (think fancy ramen, but lazier).
Dinner 2: The 2 thighs, 2 drumsticks, 2 wing drumettes, 2 wing flats were deep fried (breaded for the big pieces, naked for the wing parts) and served as fried chicken with some sides.
Dinner 3: The remaining boneless breast was cut up into cubes for a homemade kung pao, using a modified recipe from Kenji Lopez Alt. I served it with rice and a separate stir fried broccoli dish.
Each meal fed me, my spouse, my 2 young kids (who eat slightly smaller portions). I didn’t set out to be frugal with it, but I think each meal cost less than $10 for 4 portions. And I managed to pull it off on weeknights after work, after picking up my kids from school/daycare, so I’m pretty proud of that.
Average chicken size has risen significantly through the introduction of specialized huge breeds. This article summarizes an academic paper that describes how we went from breeds that averaged 900g (2.0 lbs) to 4.2 kg (9.2 lbs) at 56 days old.