Don’t be intimidated by a whole chicken!
Is your go to for dinner usually a package of chicken breasts? Do you feel a little overwhelmed by the idea of cooking a whole chicken for dinner? Let me help you! We have a lot of people stop us and say they’d love to try our chicken but they really don’t know what to do with a whole bird. No worries! Besides roasting the chicken like you might want to do for a Sunday dinner (cook on lower temps-350 degrees or so and breast side down so it stays juicier!), a whole chicken gives you the basis for multiple meals during your week. Let me show you how…
It is super easy to roast a whole chicken in a Nesco or crockpot. The bird should be thawed before cooking though could be thrown in frozen. One customer likes to let theirs cook overnight in the Nesco which is a fabulous idea. Let it cook until it basically starts to fall apart. There should be plenty of juices from the bird at the bottom, if not, add water while cooking. Remove and let the chicken cool before handling (it will be hot!). After it is cool enough to work with, use your hands or forks to pull the meat off the bones and shred it all up, discarding the skin and bones. You could toss the skin and bones back into the crockpot, fill with water and add some onions, carrots, celery, salt, pepper, and thyme and cook in the crockpot on low for 12-24 more hours for a flavorful broth (strain all the solids to use). Use the shredded chicken in the following recipes for multiple go to meals during the week.
Super Stuffed Tortillas
1-2 cloves garlic, minced
1 large onion
1 green pepper
2 cups corn
2 cups shredded chicken
1 1/2 T ground cumin
2 cups black beans
1 cup chicken or vegetable broth
6 T salsa
flour or corn tortillas
cheese, shredded
Saute the garlic in 2 tsp oil for 1 minute. Add the onion and pepper and saute until crisp-tender. Add the corn and cumin and saute until the veggies are tender but not browned. Add the chicken, beans, broth and salsa and cook until there is no excess moisture. Remove from the heat and add salt, pepper, sliced green onions or chives, and chopped fresh cilantro to taste. Serve in tortillas with cheese and additional salsa as desired.
Creamy Chicken Enchiladas
1 medium onion, diced
2 T butter
1 1/2 cups cooked shredded chicken
1 cup salsa
3 oz pkg cream cheese, cubed
8 flour tortillas
green onion sliced
dash cumin
Cook onion in butter until tender but not brown. Stir in chicken, 1/4 cup salsa, cream cheese and cumin; heat through. Remove from heat. Stir in 1/2 c shredded cheese. Spoon some of the chicken mixture down the center of the tortilla; roll and place seam side down in 12x7 baking dish. Cover with remaining salsa and sprinkle with cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for about 15 minutes. Sprinkle with onions.
Cream of wild rice chicken soup
3 cups cooked wild rice
1 large onion, diced
1 carrot, finely diced
1 rib celery, finely diced
1 cup diced chicken
1/2 cup butter
1/2cup flour
8 cups chicken broth
salt and pepper to taste
1 cup light cream or half and half
Prepare the wild rice. In a 4-5 quart soup kettle, saute the onion, carrot, celery in butter about 3 minutes or until the veggies have softened slightly. Sift the flour and add to the butter-veggie mixture, a little bit at a time, stirring and ooking until the flour is blended in well, but do not let it brown. Slowly add the chicken broth, stirring until all the flour-butter-veggie mixture is well blended. Add the wild rice and chicken; adjust seasonings as desired. Heat thoroughly. Add the cream and reheat gently, but do not boil.
Chicken Bacon Ranch Casserole from the Pioneer Woman
6 slices bacon, chopped
1 small onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
8 oz cream cheese, cubed
2 cups milk
1 1 oz packet dry ranch seasoning mix
3 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
8 oz rotini pasta, cooked
4 cups cooked chopped chicken
1/2 cup sliced green onions
Preheat the oven to 375. In a skilled, cook the bacon over medium heat, stirring often until crispy, about 8 minutes. Remove the bacon from the pan using a slotted spoon. Set aside but leave drippings in pan. Add the onion and garlic to the pan, cook, stirring often, until slightly softened about 5 minutes. Whisk in the cream cheese, milk, ranch and 1 cup of mozzarella until smooth; remove from the heat. In a large bowl, stir together the ranch mixture, the cooked pasta and 1/2 cup of the green onions until well combined. Transfer to a 13x9 inch casserole dish and sprinkle evenly with bacon and top with remaining 2 cups mozzarella. Bake until the top is golden brown and crispy, about 25-30 minutes. Cool slightly and top with more green onion just before serving.
**Could also add spinach or small broccoli florets.
Hopefully just seeing these recipes gives you some more confidence that you don’t have to just use a whole chicken to roast fancy and serve at your Sunday dinner. One chicken can really go a long way too and if you cook one up to shred you’re sure to get at least 2-3 meals from it depending on the size. These recipes have me thinking its time to go throw a chicken in the crockpot and let it cook away!
Warmly,
Jackie
