Am I the only person to stand in the supermarket aisle with little time to spare and not too much of an idea what to throw on the table for an evening meal after a busy day? Thought not … and yet I have to hand a plethora of recipes at my fingertips but they often go clean right out of my head as closing time approaches. One of my fail-safe fall-backs is a rotisserie chicken, and I have to say I often score a bargain or two near that closing time deadline when prices are drastically cut. But bargain or not it has saved the day on too many occasions to count mainly because it is infinitely versatile. So here’s my take on what you can do with this little (or not so little) gem of convenience ….
Rotisserie Chicken Gets You Halfway to Dinner
The rotisserie chicken at the grocery store is always so tempting – golden, glistening skin, rosemary-garlicky scent, the likes of dinner. So just buy it! It’s a wiser splurge than ice cream or a ready-meal (from a meal-planning and healthy eating perspective, anyway).
There are so many ways to re-purpose roast chicken for lunch, dinner, and everything in between. (If the recipe calls for raw chicken, when the recipe instructs to cook it, just throw in the store-bought version and only warm through.) I frequently buy a whole chicken but my local store also offers halves, quarters, breasts, thighs, legs and wings too so just choose the cut and amount you require. We often have the hot or warm version immediately with steamed vegetables or salad and then I cool then chill the remainder for other meals during the week.
Here’s a few ideas to get you started:
- use to make a salad with greenery, beans, tomatoes and grains
- mix into a flavoursome and spicy sauce mixture to make a curry
- toss with crisp shredded vegetables like peppers/capsicums, onions, baby corn, beansprouts and ginger for a stir-fry
- cube or tear into strips and mix with pasta for a packed lunch box pasta salad
- arrange with sliced fruits like apple, pear, nectarine and some nuts for a special fruity salad
- use to make a speedy lasagne – use strips of courgette/zucchini instead of pasta to cut the carbs if liked
- just a few strips will add something extra to a bariatric pizza – lovely when combined with pesto or basil
- make a main meal in minutes by combining chunks of roast chicken with roasted vegetables like peppers/capsicums, courgettes/zucchini, aubergine/eggplant and onions
- make a kind of egg and chicken fried ‘rice’ mixture with a few strips of chicken and some cauliflower rice
- any leftover scraps and the carcass will make a wonderful stock or soup
- just a handful of chicken pieces will make a great sandwich filling, topping for a potato or Melba toast spread
- use for a taco filling
- make a crustless quiche or breakfast egg cups with some chicken, eggs, crumbled bacon, cheese and herbs
Here’s a few to try:
Apple, Chicken and Quinoa Salad
Bariatric Coronation Chicken on Rice Cake
Chicken and Pasta Crunchy Salad
Coronation Chicken Potato Skins
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