Sunday, June 12, 2011

One Chicken - Three Meals

A couple of weeks ago, my CSA box contained a whole chicken.  It wasn't a huge chicken, but it was just right for my family of three. (And, I knew EXACTLY where it came from, which for me is a really big deal.)  I wasn't ready to "deal" with a whole chicken just then, so I put her in the freezer until I was really good and ready to tango!

Since I am a work-outside the home, 100-mile round trip commuting mama, I knew the deed would need to be done in the slow cooker (not to mention that it's been in the 90s since the end of May).  So I mustered (not mustard) up one of my favorite recipes (here) which is very quick and easy and off to work I went.  I love coming home to a nice cooked meal where the rest of my effort is minimal after a long day at work.

Once the bird is done, there are sooo many options. The first of course is to eat it as is out of the slow cooker.  Once you've eaten from the bird, it's time to prepare for other meals - and in my case it's two more.  I love to shred the chicken.  It stretches the meat so much further than any other method (in my opinion).  I pick every single piece of chicken off those bones that I possibly can. It's a little messy, but well worth the reward.  Once you are done pickin' you should have a bowl of chicken that looks similar to pulled pork. (And remember, you can freeze what you picked, too.)

My two stretch meals were Chicken Nachos and Caesar Chicken Pasta Salad.  Yum and Yum...(recipes will be posted soon!)  Please share your ideas...I would love to know what you would do with the chicken!

3 comments:

  1. great ideas! I like to make chicken burritos as a second meal when we roast a chicken -- like we did this evening, LOL! Another family favorite is chicken spaghetti.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thank you. If it even closely resembles "Mexican" food, then I like it!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Oh me too I love mexican :) Well the old stand by that we do and love is chicken salad. Typically with celery, onion, walnuts, apples (sometimes grapes) and salt/pepper and mayo. If the rainy/cooler times, boiling the chicken and making chicken 'n' dumplings, my favorite! Also, boiling the chicken and pulling it out and using the broth to make a sticky rice then add the chicken back in. Also, chicken breasts on the grill with some veggies for dinner... chicken paprikash with the legs for another meal. Love the blog!!!

    ReplyDelete

Have a seat...let me know what you think!