Note: A typo was discovered on the original recipe for last week’s post on scones. The correct flour amount is 3 cups, not 2! The original recipe’s weight measures were correct, but the volume measurements were off a bit. Our apologies for the error.
And now for this week’s post…
(Susan:) This week, vegetarian Logan is traveling (HAPPY PRIDE!!!!) and unavailable to cook and write, so in his absence Erin and I decided to do a meat-centric post!
Store-bought rotisserie chicken is the ultimate component for a quick and easy dinner. You can pick up a freshly roasted chicken at the grocery store deli any time, typically for about the same price as a whole fresh chicken, and for a much smaller chunk of your time.
But aside from the classic sliced roasted chicken, mashed potatoes and green veggie dinner, what else can you do with that chicken? Erin and I came up with several innovate ways (we think) to utilize a simple ingredient. Check out this table of contents and scroll through to find our comments on what intrigues you!
- Chicken and Broccoli Grilled Burritos (Homemade Hot Pockets)
- Leftovers Chicken Fried Rice
- BBQ Chicken Flatbread Pizza
- Caprese Chicken Pesto ‘Pasta’ (Zucchini Noodles)
- Southwest Salad
- Mini-Pepper Chicken Nachos
- Skinny Chicken Salad (No Mayo!)
- General Tso’s Chicken Lettuce Wraps
(Susan): Neither The Dad nor I are fans of dark meat chicken, so I cheated just a little and purchased a roasted chicken breast, yielding about five cups of versatile deliciousness for only $8.
1. Chicken and Broccoli Grilled Burritos
This is a kid-friendly, healthier version of hot pockets! Using this recipe, we had a tasty and portable dinner in less than 15 minutes. Next time, I will add more veggies — more broccoli, and maybe shredded carrots and red pepper strips — as well as a dipping sauce of some kind, maybe an avocado crema, or simple jarred salsa.
2. Leftovers Chicken Fried Rice
Using this recipe as an inspiration, an abundance of leftover brown rice and veggies in my fridge, and my love for Asian take-out, in only 15 minutes we had a huge dish of homemade chicken fried rice. Take-out chicken fried rice tends to be fairly greasy and salty, so using low sodium soy sauce reduced that salt quotient quite a bit. With only a tablespoon each of canola and toasted sesame oils, the fat content is lowered while still imparting a lot of Asian flavor. Finally, to reduce calories even further, try using Egg Beaters instead of real egg.
3. BBQ Chicken Flatbread Pizza
Pizza is easily The Dad’s favorite food. Anytime we go to that well-known west coast state named pizza place, he always orders their scrumptious-but-1,070-calorie BBQ chicken pizza. With the last portion of rotisserie chicken, I whipped up a reduced calorie homemade version in less than 30 minutes!
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. If you have a pizza stone, place it in the oven to preheat as well. Spritz olive oil on one side of a reduced fat tortilla or prepackaged thin pizza crust, and your favorite BBQ sauce on the other side. Top with chopped rotisserie chicken, shredded low fat cheese such as gouda or mozzarella, and caramelized onion. Place on hot pizza stone and bake 5 minutes or until cheese is melted and bubbly. Top with chopped fresh cilantro and devour!
(Erin): Well, they may not like dark meat, but I’ll eat it! I got a whole rotisserie chicken from Sam’s for $5. Being recently un-vegetarian, my heart hurts a bit when I break down whole chickens, but……… I move on.
4. Caprese Chicken Pesto ‘Pasta’ (Zucchini Noodles)
Using pesto I made the day before as the sauce, I mixed chicken breast pieces and cherry tomatoes with al dente zucchini noodles. If you’ve ever tried to hand-cut zucchini noodles, you know how difficult it is to get consistent sizes. I recently got Pampered Chef’s Julienne Peeler and OMG what a difference. This recipe is also a nice way to use up all that pesto you’ll have shortly if you’re growing basil!
5. Southwest Salad
Nothing super special here. I used corn, black beans, bell peppers, cilantro, green onion and dark meat shreds with the dressing from our BLT salad post. The lime base of that dressing is the perfect light alternative for southwest salads that usually warrant a ranch-type dressing.
6. Mini-Pepper Chicken Nachos
A good way to utilize the odds and ends of your chicken. Mini bell peppers save a ridiculous amount of calories when used over tortilla chips. You never really think you’re eating that much until you count out what a serving is. Who decides what a serving is anyway? Obviously someone who is a size 00.
Anyway, I cut the mini peppers in half and scooped out the seeds and membranes. Then I baked them for about 10 minutes at 400 degrees, removed from oven and topped with a sautéed veggie mixture of onions, peppers, black beans, corn, and taco seasoning. Then cheese. Always cheese. And baked again until cheese was melted. Topped with salsa, guac, sour cream/plain greek yogurt, etc. If you haven’t tried plain greek yogurt as a sub for sour cream then you should. Do it!
7. Skinny Chicken Salad (No Mayo!)
Being vegetarian for almost 10 years and a lifelong hate of mayo, I have never had chicken salad. So I figured now that I am eating meat, it would be a decent time to try it out. I used this recipe as a guide. I added pecan pieces and grape halves, just because, but they were both really good additions. Not loving raw red onion, I left it out, but can see where it was needed. I may sub celery next time to give that crunch the onion would’ve added.
8. General Tso’s Chicken Lettuce Wraps
My last installment of how to use the chicken may be my favorite! A light, summer-time lunch (or appetizer) put together in minutes. All I did was heat up some chicken shreds with a bit of General Tso’s sauce (you can use whatever you have though). On top of the chicken, I added bell pepper strips and green onion. This is definitely a versatile base recipe.
Do you have a favorite way to use rotisserie chicken? Let us know in the comments! -CT/MA
Cooking Together, Miles Apart 
Another excellent use for that chicken; the bones that remain that is, Is chicken stock / broth. After removing the meat put the bones in a stock pot with 4 quarts of water, 2-3 carrots washed, peeled and cut into chunks, 2 stalks of celery, washed and cut in chunks, 1 onion , peeled and quartered add 1/4 cup organic apple cider vinegar and let rest for 1 hour. Next over medium high heat bring to a boil. As a foam develops, skim off and discard. Lower heat to keep the stock going at a simmer and allow to simmer 6 – 24 hours. In the last 10 minutes of cooking time add a bouquet of fresh parsley. Strain and skim any fat. Now you’ve got rich stock / broth . Store in containers in fridge up to 10 days or freeze up to 3 months.
Tip: after you get through the boil and skim the foam you can transfer the stock / broth to a slow cooker or crock pot ( large enough to accommodate) and allow to simmer for desired time.
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Great suggestion, Francine! I will definitely do this. Thanks for following us!
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