I said we rarely eat out, but I never said I make all my meals entirely from scratch!
Enter: the Rotisserie Chicken.
On Tuesdays, Albertsons has these on sale for 3.99 each. But mostly I'm in a hurry on the Other Days, and have to pay full price. It doesn't really matter, because I can still feed my family for a lot less than if we drove through McDonald's.
First, pull off a leg and nibble on it while you decide what to do with the rest of the chicken. Take the chicken off the bone and pull it apart or cut it up into chunks. Hmmm. How about......
1. Sauteed Vegetable Medley, served with chicken, over rice.
Lightly saute onions and whatever veg you have on hand. While that is sizzling, make a pot of rice. Add chicken bits to the veggies just before serving to heat through, and serve it over the rice.
2. Chicken fajitas
Saute up some onions and peppers, then add chicken right at the end. Let everyone build their own fajita, with grated cheese, beans, lettuce, sour cream, salsa. Don't forget the chips. This is a good one to serve with cut up fruit.
3. Pasta with Chicken and Vegetable Pesto (Delish!)
Lightly saute vegetables in olive oil. I like onions, red peppers, zucchini, broccoli and carrots. It just takes a little bit of each kind to make a lot. Add the chicken at the end.
Meanwhile, boil ziti or mostaccioli pasta (or whatever you have). Mix the pasta in with the vegetables and add several tablespoons of Pesto to mix in also.
You can add some goodies like feta cheese and black olives to this just before serving. Tastes like it came from a restaurant!
4. Chicken Salad
Every one has their favorite way to make chicken salad, so I won't do a recipe here. Sometimes, I put scoops of chicken salad inside buns and wrap in foil and heat in the oven. It's like a Hot Pocket, except it tastes good.
5. Chicken/Vegetable Soup
My Mom is the queen of soup making. Even a small amount of leftover rotisserie chicken can make a delicious soup, and we especially love it in the fall and winter. All you do is put some water and/or canned chicken broth in a pot and get it slowly boiling. Start digging through your vegetable drawer, and cut up whatever you have on hand and throw it in, along with the chicken. It's the onions and the garlic that make everything taste good, so use plenty. I usually add boullion cubes to boost the flavor. Thicken it at the end and serve it up with crusty bread.
6. White Chicken Chili
I use the recipe on the back of Bush's Northern Beans. The recipe used to be on the back of the Navy Bean can, but now they went and changed it. I'm waaay over my 500 word "limit" so I'll post the link to the recipe here.
You can always just eat the chicken right off the bone, which is what we do quite often. Paper plates optional.
How about you? Share your Rotisserie Chicken ideas with me, so the rest of us Company Girls can get inspired!
