My key to getting through a week with no fewer than two presentable and edible meals on the table is planning, or—at a minimum—creativity. I can make this happen if I plan ahead enough to make two great meals out of one primary ingredient. But success will only ensue if I have all ingredients on hand after an exceptionally efficient grocery shopping.
Does this sound familiar?
See below for photo source.
Note: Extra points for making enough to last for lunch leftovers, or better yet, putting a portion in the freezer.
This week my plan involves one pre-cooked rotisserie chicken. (In previous stages of my cooking life, I used to pass these birds by, writing them off as shortcuts for people who don’t cook. Now I run to them: “Please come home with me, delectable little bird!”)
On Monday morning, I walk to Whole Foods with the baby. I get a golden-and-crispy-on-the-outside, juicy-and-tender-on-the-inside rotisserie chicken, among other things.
Upon returning home, I first inform my work-at-home husband that there is a killed and de-feathered animal in the house, because he insists on picking off all the meat I discard as unusable. I am a meat snob.
I pull out a sharpened sudoku (no, not one of those puzzles from the newspaper) and a clean cutting board. For me, there is something therapeutic about chopping chicken.
I divide the chicken into two bowls. I put one bowl of diced chicken in the fridge and get to work on the first recipe, my adaptation of Everyday Food’s Broccoli Calzones (this recipe doesn’t include chicken; what a shame). The recipe makes eight calzones, so I always serve two and freeze six for later. It’s the perfect pull-out-in-a-pinch dinner or lunch. Whenever I make them, I pre-cook them (the recipe says not to) so I can just zap them in the microwave (on the convection/crisper function) and serve with some jarred pasta sauce on the side. I buy the pizza dough pre-made, which saves a lot of time.
On Tuesday, I doctor up Real Simple’s Chicken Curry in a Hurry. The chicken is already set to go! I alter many recipes, including this one, by adding some veggies (mushrooms, green peppers). I always add vegetables to any casserole-type dish that doesn’t call for anything green. If I’m feeling bold and wishing I was someplace tropical, I throw in some cubed pineapple. I serve it over jasmine rice.
What are your tricks for using one primary ingredient twice?
Photo source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/stevendepolo/ / CC BY 2.0
Sarah Fullerton is Plummelo’s editor. She enjoys cooking, knitting, skiing, and cycling. One of her favorite hobbies is sharing and talking about recipes and discovering shortcuts for healthy eating. She is especially enthusiastic about cooking for her baby girl. She can be contacted at sarah@plummelo.com.
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Love this post. I also love using rotisserie chic for curried chicken salad (epicurious has a few good ones). Also I made a yummy autumn minestrone last week with many veggies that my kids would not touch but then stirred some into their annies mac n cheese. I guess that is cheating a little but hey!
I’m not as creative, but I do love store-bought rotisserie chicken for the very reason that you can make multiple meals out if it. Probably not as wholesome, but Costco has them for 5 dollars. We just carve most of the meat, then I throw in everything (bone and all) into a stock pot with bay leaves and whole onions to boil for couple hours. Then I either make chicken noodle/rice soup or save the homemade chicken stock for later. Very neat blog, linking us to great recipes. Look forward to reading more! -yellowinter
I’m not as creative, but I do love store-bought rotisserie chicken for the very reason that you can make multiple meals out if it. Probably not as wholesome, but Costco has them for 5 dollars. We just carve most of the meat, then I throw in everything (bone and all) into a stock pot with bay leaves and whole onions to boil for couple hours. Then I either make chicken noodle/rice soup or save the homemade chicken stock for later. Very neat blog, linking us to great recipes. Look forward to reading more! -yellowinter
i throw leftover rotisserie chicken in to pasta, fried rice, quesadilla, curry. now that it’s christmas season, i’m waiting for the hambone to make split pea soup (i purposely leave a lot of the meat on the bone) and the leftover ham also goes in to pasta, fried rice, quesadilla. i think this is a pattern. leftover roasted salmon becomes topping for a green salad, omelet with dill and goat cheese, salmon salad (like tuna salad) sandwiches; mixed with diced onions, bell peppers, bread crumbs, and an egg becomes salmon cakes. left over braised meats (osso bucco, pot roast, etc.) get thrown over papardelle and sprinkled with herbs and romano for a quick pasta.
I always like to use a main dish like meat, seafood, or beans and rice for things like soup, sandwiches, or salads. I love making entirely new dishes from dinner ingredients for lunch!
(Almost) as easy, but certainly less expensive if you pay attention to the sales and keep chickens in your freezer…you can cook one whole in the crock pot and achieve equally as delicious results! The Whole Foods rotisserie chickies are most expensive, Costco ones are only $5, but you can cook one for as little as $2.50, I have found, if you plan it right! I stay home with my kids, so eating well on a tight budget is very important to us.
Take four large pieces of tin foil and ball them up. Set them in the bottom of your crockpot. Place the chicken (defrosted, rinsed, giblets removed, patted dry) in top of the foil and season with salt, pepper, and poultry seasoning. Do not add any other liquid. Cover the crockpot and cook on low 6-7 hours. All of the fat and liquid from the chicken will drain into the bottom of the crockpot; the foil will keep the chicken from cooking in its’ own fat. The meat will be so tender and juicy, it will fall off the bones! In fact, you need to be very careful removing the cooked bird from the machine or it might fall apart.
Now that my firstborn is a little older and we have added the craziness of school pickups and drops offs, karate classes, swimming lessons, and playdates, I find myself working towards strategies that avoid the old “walk to the market to pick up a chicken” (or fresh bread, or shrimp from the fish place) because I simply do not have time for extra errands. Anything I can buy ahead for a good value that’s good quality and saves me time? That works for me!