This recipe comes from my daughter Trisha Currin. She is married with a brand new baby. This is how she saves money when she breaks down and buys one of those fast and easy already cooked chickens.
First, she and her husband make one dinner out of the chicken then she de-bones the rest, adds some mixed vegetables that she always buys in the huge bag at Sam's Club. She then microwaves this for a couple of seconds, just enough to get it warm. Then she freezes it. She buys pie crust in bulk when she finds it on sale. When she needs a fast recipe for dinner, she defrosts her chicken and vegetables and adds one can of cream of chicken soup and puts it her piecrust and bakes according to the instructions on the pie crust. Fast and easy, and she gets two meals out of one chicken. She also does this with beef but adds the gravy to the meat and vegetables and then freezes. I hope this gives someone an easy quick meal this holiday season.
Hey, in addition to what you guys already said about rotisserie chicken, try this too! After you debone it, put the carcass, the skin, any joints or meaty bits that are too much trouble to get the meat off (I always just throw in the wings, rather than messing with them) in a stock pot or Dutch Oven. Cover it with water, add a quartered onion, some smashed garlic, celery with leaves (I use the middle part that isn't so good for cooking with), and a carrot snapped in a few pieces. Peppercorns, bay leaves or any herbs you like are also good. Bring all this to a boil and then simmer, partly covered for at least a couple of hours. I stir it occasionally and sort of break up the carcass as I go. When it is done, pour it through a fine strainer or cheesecloth and put the broth in the refrigerator for a few hours or overnight. In the morning, you can scrape all the fat off the top and you have a "chicken jello" that is better than any broth you can buy and way better than bullion. If I don't make soup right away, I just freeze it to use later. This will work with beef bones or a hambone too.
I, too, buy the rotisserie chickens. We always have a meal off the chicken the first night. I, too, debone the rest of the meat & chop & freeze in zipper freezer bags for a fast meal another time. Sometimes, I'll purchase more than one of these chickens & debone them all, into 2 cup serving bags for the freezer to toss into a casserole, stir-fry, soup, or just to toss with BBQ sauce for fast sandwiches.
Login using the form on the top of the page to post feedback (if you are a registered user). If you have not yet registered, click here to do so. It's FREE!.
