apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Just so you know, I used to work at KFC and love their rotisseri chicken :)

One of my favorite ways to use up the white meat is to make Jenny's chicken dip. This recipe comes from my friend Jenny and uses chicken mayonnaise, red pepper, cheese and a few other ingredients to make a fabulous party dip. You'll be addicted!

I know it's a cliche, but chunks of chicken on a caesar salad, yum. Shredded chicken in tacos is another favorite and then you take the bones and make stock. A good friend always did bbq chicken on pizza. Jambalaya (chicken and sausage) is always lovely. White chicken chili when the weather gets cooler. Oh, I could go on.

When I was single and living alone I'd buy a whole chicken, a package of corn tortillas, an onion and one bunch of cilantro. I'd shred up the chicken and make shredded chicken tacos all week with it and the rest of the ingredients. I never got sick of that meal. Having homemade tomatillo salsa with it was a plus!

I love it by itself, pulled off and eaten by hand at a picnic.

A salad or sandwich would be awesome too.

My friend buys roast chicken when she makes chicken pot pie, otherwise there are just too many steps involved! I will definitely be doing that this coming winter. :)

One of our favorite recipes:
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Mediterranean-Chicken-Salad-109681

i make a chicken and white bean salad and serve it over mixed greens. shredded chicken, a can of white beans, cherry tomatoes, olive oil, vinegar, s&p, fresh herbs. delicious.

I love roast chicken (the $5 ones from Costco rock!) for easy weekday dinner quesadillas. I might throw some chicken, Parmesan, arugula, and some sliced almonds in a tortilla, or a more traditional one with chicken, cheddar, sliced jalapenos and sauteed veggies like onions, bell peppers, and mushrooms. It takes 10 minutes and it's so yummy!

Question for all. I've always thought about using the leftovers for stock, but I've also heard that using a store-bought chicken makes the stock taste acrid. Is that true? Thoughts?

I get one of those Boboli pizzas and slather BBQ sauce all over it, put the shredded rotisserie chicken meat on it, chop some chives and some yellow peppers and add that to it, top with favorite shredded cheese and voila: my own BBQ chicken pizza a la Wolfgang Puck. Gotta go--I'm getting hungry looking at your photo of the chicken!!!
Katy
http://fengshuibyfishgirl.com

@Elissa-D, I've made stock many times with a store-bought chicken and haven't had any trouble or complaints. I'd say that if you like the taste of the meat, the stock is probalby going to be fine.

Elissa-D,
I've made chicken stock from the bones of a roast chicken (from the store) and I think it's absolutely fine.
I just make sure to get most of the skin and fat off. And then also store the stock (after putting it through a sieve) in the fridge for a few hours or over night to get all the fat to the top and then take it off.

This is one of my go-to recipes using rotisserie chicken:

http://www.realsimple.com/food-recipes/browse-all-recipes/chicken-curry-hurry-10000001586856/index.html

Chicken Empanadas

Enchiladas!

The chicken from the local Mexican place is seasoned so well, and it saves so much time to shred it and put it into enchiladas...

I'm on a diet program where I eat meat and vegetables for dinner and these chickens come in handy to make salad. They pack so much flavor. And with most store that don't just come in traditional seasonings. This past week I bought an Picante Flavor and a Butter & Garlic.

Chicken salad
Chicken salad sandwiches
Quesadillas
Chicken nachos
Fajitas
Buffalo chicken dip

I actually never buy the store roasted chickens, because I can't be sure that they're free range, which is very important to me (I'm never likely to go vegetarian, but I can't eat cruelly raised animals). There are few things better than picking through the carcass of a roasted chicken for all the little leftover bits that can't be carved off though - we tend to make sandwiches, with plenty of butter and salt, with all the decent sized bits, then just pick & nibble. Yum!

I make lemon-chicken-pasta, my favorite! Cook some linguine, and meanwhile sautee garlic and lemon zest in butter. Add some wine, chx stock, the juice of a lemon, and a touch of cream and cook it down until the pasta is done - then I toss the pasta in the sauce and add shredded chicken, rough chopped fresh parsley, sea salt, fresh cracked black pepper, and a big handful of fresh grated parmagiano reggiano cheese. This is addictive - beware.

We love a store bought chicken for a picnic too. Pick up some fresh bread rolls, some coleslaw, cheese, avocado and mayo and you got yourself a fine meal.

chinese chicken salad
taco salad (black beans, corn, tomato, scallion, black olives)
chicken and biscuits or chicken and dumplings
2nding enchiladas

I love stopping by the store to pick up a roast chicken after a long day at work!

-shredded with a side of green beans and potatoes or corn is my favorite, with a little sour cream to dip the chicken in

tacos are another favorite as well as just shredding the chicken to use in salads later in the week or enchiladas. I may have to make that run tomorrow night!

shred it up and throw it in a saucepan with a whole bunch of sweet baby rays bbq sauce and pretend you just slaved away making a pulled bbq chicken! delish and so quick / easy!

After we eat the thighs and legs for dinner one night, I cut up the breast meat and make stock out of the rest. Next night I make enchiladas by sautéing 1/2 chopped small onion and 1 finely chopped jalapeno until soft. Add 2 cups of the chopped rotisserie chicken breast. Fill 4 medium size flour tortillas. Put a little salsa verde (I've had tomatillos and jalapenos in my CSA, so make the salsa and freeze it) in a 9x9 pan before adding enchiladas. Topped with remaining salsa verde and some queso fresco cheese. Bake until bubbly.

shannondawn, that sounds PHENOM.

Chicken rolls, in chicken pies, basically anything whch calls for pre-cooked chicken because I really can't be bothered. Also, to feed the dog. He loves his chicken (and yes, is incredibly spoilt :) )

FoodieGreenie- are there no chicken labelled free range where you live? Here (in Aus) a well respected brand of Free range chickens sells pre-roasted chickens in some stores.

I throw it in this sweet potato soup. It is soooooo good, and I have no shame in admitting it's a Rachael Ray recipe....it's great.
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/rachael-ray/smoky-sweet-potato-chicken-stoup-recipe/index.html

I also make an orzo dish, making orzo in a way similar to risotto, toasted in olive oil, then simmered and stirred in chicken stock. I add the chicken, steamed broccoli, tons of fresh parmesan and two handfuls of chopped, fresh basil. Yum.

I just bought a couple hours ago to make tomatillo enchiladas tomorrow night. The tomatillo sauce take a lot of time with the roasting, blending, straining and reducing, so not having to roast or boil chicken makes the dish a lot more manageable on a work night...

Chicken stock - and I recently tried making stock from a Mojo flavored chicken - I added some hot & spicy elements to it - it was so flavorful along the lines of a chile/lime combination - it lasted in the house for various cooking and sipping for a good week

Ok, this is my FAVORITE recipe that uses meat from these rotisserie chickens. It's a Giada recipe:

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/everyday-italian/curried-chicken-sandwich-with-radicchio-and-pancetta-recipe/index.html

Also, I love to use them for homemade chicken soup or chicken salads!

I always remove the breast meat for anything from enchiladas to pasta to chicken salad. Then I pick the carcass clean & store meat seperately, remove some of the skin (lots of flavor there!), break it down and make stock out of it. Add a carrot, onion, bay leaf. Refrigerate overnight to facilitate fat removal.

Then I make a risotto with the roasted chicken stock and add the remaining dark meat towards the end of cooking with lots of parmesan. Fabulous on a fall or winter evening.

Having worked at a high-end grocery store meat department in Milwaukee throughout high school, I wouldn't touch one of these things with a 10-foot poll. Maybe it was just our store, but these are rarely the "freshest" chickens.

I like to make chicken taco soup in the crockpot. Couple cans of diced tomatoes, couple cans of beans (whatever you have, we like black beans), corn (we use frozen leftover from summer), a can of green chilies, onion, taco seasoning and leftover chicken. Throw it all in the crockpot and let it cook 'til heated through. Serve with tortilla chips, sour cream and shredded cheese.

Chicken tortilla soup.....saute onions and peppers with cumin and other spices, add some black beans and tomatoes (canned or fresh), shred the rotiss. chicken and drop it in the pot with chix stock and simmer. Once heated, ladel into a bowl and top with chopped cilantro, cut up avocado, and garnish with tortilla chips, jack or ched. cheese and a dallop of sour cream or greek yogurt. This can be a fast dinner if you have all the ingredients pre-packaged, but I've also done it the long way (when I have more time) and used ALL fresh ingredients (no cans) and made my own tortilla chips! Regardless, it's delish!! And easy!!

Make Guajillo salsa throw it in a pan to heat it up, then toss in the shredded chicken. I pu that in corn tortillas topped with shredded cabbage, cilantro, and crema, then squeeze a little lime on top. Might be my favorite taco.

I love the value of the rotisserie chicken from Costco. It's so delicious and juicy! The first night I have one, I have a nice chicken dinner with mashed potatoes and carrots or green beans. I put the rest of the chicken in the fridge until the next day. Then, I carefully remove the rest of the meat from the bird and make a chicken salad with raisins and walnuts and celery and all sorts of good things. I'll eat the chicken salad on toast or with a little bit of lettuce for as long as it lasts. I save the bones and other remnants for stock.

I love getting the Costco ones. We use half one day for chicken soup and half the next day for burritos. I like these from Martha Stewart: http://www.marthastewart.com/recipe/chicken-mushroom-and-goat-cheese-burritos