Last month, Katie brought me a huge roasting hen. It weighed 7.5 pounds. I'd offered her some of the meat from this once it was cooked, but she declined, telling me that she wanted only for me to make chicken broth from the frame so she could put it in her freezer. Katie is a big believer in Mama's chicken broth when it comes to fighting off a cold or illness and she likes to keep a supply on hand.
John and I each had a leg and a slice of breast meat and then there was a ton of leftover meat. I contemplated that meat for several days and I thought of all sorts of meals I might make with it. Each breast half weighed in the neighborhood of a pound and a half. The thighs were big, and each provided enough meat to serve a meal for John and me.
We're averaging a whole roasted chicken about once every two weeks just now with meat prices soaring and whole chickens remaining less than $3 a pound. In my area, the big Never Any birds from Aldi are now $2.49 a pound but at Publix a smaller whole bird runs about $1.01 a pound. Sometimes they have bigger roasting hens for the same price per pound. The discount grocery store is still advertising them at $1.28 per pound but it's been a bit over a month since they last offered a sale.
I know everyone has their preferences for certain dishes to make from roasted (or rotisserie) chicken but if you, like us, are now eating them more often, then you might want a few new ideas of things you might make from the leftovers. I have had to put on my thinking cap, pull out some of my lesser used recipes and get really creative with cooked chicken.
Pizza is one option I've chosen to use. I make two different chicken pizzas that we really enjoy. One is a BBQ Chicken Pizza. I spread a good barbecue sauce on my pizza dough, add pieces of cooked chicken, sliced sweet onion (red is the best but use what you have), a little green bell pepper is a nice addition and then well drained pineapple tidbits. Use pineapple that has been packed in its own juice. You'll want about 1/2 cup pineapple for a 12-inch pizza. Top with a mix of shredded cheddar and mozzarella cheeses.
The other pizza we've enjoyed is Buffalo Chicken pizza. I use a mix of melted butter and hot sauce on the pizza dough, then top with cooked chicken, blue cheese bits and mozzarella. Bake as usual and serve with a sprinkling of finely chopped celery and shredded carrots. This is one pizza we enjoy a lot.
Another option for a pizza, one I want to try soon, is to top the pizza dough with a slathering of Ranch dressing or Alfredo sauce, then top with chicken, bacon bits (I'll use turkey bacon) and mozzarella.
If you're not interested in pizza, then the Buffalo chicken ingredients or the Ranch Bacon and chicken ingredients can be tossed with cooked pasta. The Buffalo chicken pasta I sometimes make calls for a 8 ounces of cream cheese. I cut the amount to about 3 ounces and melted it into a thin white sauce, then added in some blue cheese and tossed it with cooked pasta. You might also consider steamed broccoli and a jar (or homemade which is super easy and tasty) of Alfredo sauce tossed with cooked chicken pieces and poured over pasta. All of these should be mixed and topped with cheese or crumbs and then baked.
Shish kebab can be made with cubes of cooked breast meat...One of my favorite chicken shish kebabs has broiled pineapple chunks, green pepper and onion with cubes of cooked chicken. I brush the whole with BBQ sauce that I've thinned with some of the pineapple juice and broil for a few minutes until the vegetables are crisp tender and have a little char.
You might also shish kebab chicken, onions, peppers and brush with a Teriyaki sauce. Serve over rice. Or use Greek seasonings of oregano, lemon juice and garlic to brush the chicken and red onion, then toss with cucumbers and tomatoes in a salad.
A Tex-Mex spin on the chicken can be used too. Broil pepper and onion strips then toss cooked chicken with fajita or taco seasoning and add in just long enough to warm the meat through. This is delicious served in a tortilla or crispy taco shell. A little sour cream and salsa, some crisp lettuce and a bit of cheese makes for an excellent meal.
Black beans and corn mixed with cooked chicken and seasoned with salsa can be rolled into egg roll wrappers and baked for a Southwestern egg roll. This is a very popular appetizer at one of our favorite restaurants. I've recently purchased egg roll wrappers just so I can make these at home.
Or toss beans, corn and chicken over tortilla chips or salad. If making nachos, top with cheese and salsa and bake in the oven. If making the salsa try adding a bit of lime zest to Ranch dressing and toss with lettuce, tomatoes and shredded cheddar.
If you have chicken broth, a can of tomatoes and chilies, corn, black beans and cooked chicken, you can make a quick soup, seasoned with a bit of onion and some cumin. Or toss cooked chicken into a soup pot with broth, canned white beans, a can of salsa Verde or green enchilada sauce and season to taste for another delicious twist on soup.
Of course, you can make Chicken Enchiladas. You may make them with flour or corn tortillas. Fill your choice of tortilla with chicken pieces and cheese. You can add a little bit of whatever sauce you're using on top or some salsa to moisten. You can use red or green enchilada sauce or make a luscious white chili sauce to go over the top. To make the white chili sauce, mix a can of cream of chicken soup, 1 cup of sour cream and a 4-ounce can undrained, chopped green chilies then spread over the white sauce over the top of your enchiladas.
You don't have to make enchiladas. You can simply layer tortillas, chicken, cheese and sauce in a baking dish and put a little cheese over the top to make a sort of lasagna type dish. It's a nice change and just as tasty as enchiladas.
Almond chicken is one of my favorite oriental style dishes. Braise sliced celery and onion in a frying pan. Add in chicken with a brown sauce (soy is my favorite with a bit of chicken broth added) thickened with a cornstarch slurry. Sprinkle with sliced almonds and serve over rice.
Brown sauce might be the norm, but something I made one night was a matter of what I had on hand and not following a recipe exactly! I substituted dry cooking sherry for most of the soy sauce called for in the recipe and ended up with a lovely delicate but fancy tasting chicken dish. This is nice served over wild rice and isn't at all oriental in flavor but worth the try. Just replace all but 2 tbsps. of the soy sauce called for in a brown sauce with cooking sherry. Topped with slivered almonds the whole dish becomes something totally different.
You could make a variation of Sweet and Sour chicken by cooking bell peppers and onions until crisp tender, then adding a small 6 ounce can of pineapple juice, enough water to make 1 cup liquid, 2 teaspoons of cornstarch mixed into a slurry, a squirt of catsup. Add chicken and pineapple pieces in with the liquid mix and cook until thickened and hot.
Chicken Parmesan uses a breaded chicken breast cutlet, but you can make a lower calorie version, as a friend of mine used to do, by putting cooked pasta in a casserole dish, topping with cooked chicken pieces and jarred marinara sauce. Top with a mixture of mozzarella and breadcrumbs and bake until hot through.
Chicken Pot Pie is a classic use of leftover chicken, isn't it? I love chicken pot pie. I've learned to make a really lovely velvety sauce of chicken broth and flour. It's called Veloute sauce, and you can easily find a recipe online. That alone makes a nice change for a chicken pot pie. Now take that same sauce and add a little bit of lemon zest and juice, toss in broccoli cut into small florets and chicken pieces. Top with a pastry crust and bake until hot. It's a very fresh and lovely delicate tasting dish. Or for a variation skip the pastry crust and mix 1 cup of milk, 1 cup of self-rising flour, 1 melted stick of butter and mix well then pour over your pie filling. The result is a soft biscuity crust. It's one of John's favorite pot pie toppings.
Of course, I fully expect you'll use the frame to make broth...I mean, we do use the WHOLE chicken!
I hope I've given you some fresh inspiration for how to use up your whole roasted chicken, whether you bought it at the deli or baked it yourself.
4 comments:
I intend to try the biscuit crust on a pot pie this week. My husand will love it!! Thank you for the entire piece, but especially for that recipe.
Mable it's so easy and so very good for something so simple. But that's the way it usually goes, isn't it? The simpler it is the better it tastes.
Lots of good ideas for using chicken! I always put a little back to make dog food for the boys. It's been so blasted hot here that I don't even want to think about eating, let alone cooking.
Meat's for us, skin and soft gelatinous gristle for the dogs and bones go in the trash. I had a dog that loved those softer bones but then one had a bone stuck across their palate and it was hard to get lose. No more bones for the dogs. Well...except for the bones the other dogs kept bringing to Maddie, lol. She had what we called the boneyard where she preferred to lie and gnaw on hard beef and deer bones. I won't miss having that area in the yard!
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