Do you have roughly $20.00, and about 30 minutes? You can make this simple meal!
I was never really one for clipping coupons. I understand the logic of it. I like to save money as much as the next guy. But I’m just not going to clip coupons. Not going to happen.
I will, however, spend my time thumbing through the Safeway app, clicking on deal after deal, and adding them to “My List”. Buy four, get one deodorant? Yes please! Six pack of Danimals drinkable yogurt? I’m not missing out on a buck off! Store brand seltzer for $1.50?!? I’ll never buy name brand again!
Usually, I save a few bucks per trip, mostly on stuff that I forgot I had already selected, but every so often, I stumble across something awesome, like a free rotisserie chicken.
You read that right. I clicked on the app, and found myself a free bird.
*Cue Skynyrd*
Anyway, you know I’m going to make that chicken work for me. I can usually get two or three EASY meals out of a precooked chicken, and – BONUS – the toddlers like to “help” me pick it apart, by which I actually mean that I pick the meat, and they run around me demanding pieces of the breast meat, and rubbing their hands on my pants.
In this case, it was really simple. I pulled all the meat off the bones, discarded the carcass (a younger, child-free, me might have made a stock), and used some fresh onions, bell peppers, taco mix and a few other seasonings to make fajitas, and then used the leftover chicken and veggies later in the week to make a tray of tasty nachos (recipe below).
Other rotisserie chicken recipes:
Ingredients:
- 1 rotisserie chicken – meat pulled off and shredded
- 1 packet of taco or fajita seasoning
- 1 medium onion – sliced into strips
- 1 large pepper – sliced into strips
- vegetable oil
- 1 cup water (or chicken stock)
- salt and pepper
For serving (the tortillas and cheese are necessary, everything else is optional)
- tortillas
- shredded cheese
- chopped cilantro
- lime wedges
- refried beans
- hot sauce
- avocado
Steps:
- Pull the chicken. This part is kinda gross, but only if you’re a huge wuss. Just let it cool off for a few minutes, realize that you’re on top of the food chain, and roll up your damn sleeves. If you really need to know how to pull a chicken, there are WAY too many videos (like this one, from Boston Market) that show you how to do it.
- Chop the larger pieces of chicken so that it all comes out roughly the same size. It doesn’t have to be perfect.
- Cut the onion and pepper, so that the slices are all roughly the same size.
- Place two medium, nonstick skillets on the stove. Heat a tablespoon of oil in each skillet over medium-high heat.
- Add the chicken to one of the skillets, sprinkle it with a pinch of salt and pepper, and dump the spice packet over the top.
- Toss it all together, and then pour the cup of water over the top. Remember that you’re not cooking the chicken from raw, so it’s ok to taste and season as you go. I usually like to add a little chili powder, and some oregano to give it a smoky, and herbaceous flavor.
- Add the sliced onion and pepper to the other pan, and saute them over medium-high heat, stirring them pretty constantly (about every 30 seconds or so) so they don’t burn.
- Cook the chicken so the water reduces into a sauce, and the chicken starts to soften and shred apart. this will take 5-10 minutes depending on how hot you have your stove, and the ratio of water to chicken in the pan. Just remember to stir it periodically, and make sure it doesn’t burn.
- Once the onions and peppers are soft and slightly browned, and the chicken is nicely coated with the spice sauce, remove it all from the heat, and serve it in tortillas with some cheese and whatever other additions you prefer.
- Enjoy!!
If you have leftovers, and want to do something a bit different, try making your own Nachos! Head over here for my simple recipe!
Love, Food & Beer 