I cook for two people and get 3 meals from a $5 rotisserie chicken. Sometimes I could get a cheaper price on a raw chicken, but this has to do with time. The thigh/drums (2) make the meat part of one meal, sometimes with boiled potatoes.
The two breast halves make chicken salad with the addition of celery, onion, apple or pear, or dried cranberries (something sweetish), mayo (not much) and pickle (less). It's up to you. I've made it with cream cheese, mayo, and marshmallow. It all depends what you or other people want.
The third meal is soup with refrigerator and freezer scraps, usually with leftover rice or pasta and toasted cheese breads. I don't feel extravagant about buying deli because I can stretch it. Those with more eaters might get a pack of drums or quarters and bake them the first night while you get (future) eaters to cut up the stuff for chicken salad.
By susan winship from Bristol, TN
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I also make chicken enchiladas, chicken noodle soup, chicken tacos and chicken pot pies. The possibilities are endless. But one thing I found to do with the left over rotisserie chicken (bones and skin) is my own chicken broth. I cook all the bones and skin and any other skin I discarded from the chicken what wasn't edible and put in a large pot with an onion, celery sticks and a few carrots and boil this for a good 1 to 2 hours on very low simmer.
Then strain all this as best you can and refrigerate so that all the fat hardens on top, so it's easy to remove. Then separate into smaller containers and freeze some of it and leave some in the fridge for everyday use. (very thrifty) and if you have a pet, use the scraps that you boiled, and clean up the bones, and other inedible pieces and feed it to your dog as a supplement to his regular food so you'll save on your dog food too. win, win all the way.
I love rotisserie chickens. It saves me so much time. I usually cut off the breast and drumsticks for the meat at dinner with a side of steamed broccoli and potatoes. Then I use the thighs to make chicken quesadillas or shredded BBQ sandwiches.
Chunks of leftover chicken is a great substitute for tuna in tuna noodle casserole recipes. I also use it in place of hamburg in many casseroles.
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