I love taking one thing and making several things with it. One of my favorites is Rotisserie Chicken. You can pick one of these up at the store OR you could make your own in the slow cooker the night before. When I make my own, I use a slow cooker with a rack placed inside. Then I pat the whole chicken dry and season it liberally with any herbs that suit my fancy. Set it in the slow cooker and turn it to low overnight. The next day you will have a rotisserie chicken!
Now once the chicken is cool enough to handle, pull all of that meat off. Use half of that meat to make HOT MESS NACHOS!
Hot Mess Nachos
Half the meat from a rotisserie chicken
4 oz. cream cheese
1/4 cup hot sauce (we prefer Frank's)
1/2 can of refried black beans (or pinto)
Whole fat, plain greek yogurt (or sour cream)
3 scallions, chopped
1 tomato, chopped
Shredded Cheese
Tortilla Chips
Dump the chicken, cream cheese and hot sauce into a skillet and heat through over a medium heat. Mix well, until all of the cream cheese is melted and everything is incorporated.
Preheat oven to 300 degrees
Layer chips on the bottom of a baking dish, then refried black beans, then the chicken mixture, then the shredded cheese. Place in the oven for 10 minutes or until the cheese is properly melted.
Spread your yogurt over the top and garnish with scallions and tomatoes. We often sprinkle another layer of hot sauce over the top.
Alternate option: Omit the chip layer and make a dip. We like doing this because the chips don't get soft and my husband can make lettuce wraps with the dip.
Now, take the other half of the meat and make THIS AMAZING CHICKEN SALAD! We love to have this on hand in the fridge for a quick lunch throughout the week.
Now toss that chicken carcass right into your slow cooker (or put it in a plastic ziploc and store it in your freezer to use at a later date). Top it with veggie scraps or fresh veggies. I save all of my scraps from carrots, celery, onion, potatoes, stems from greens, herb stems, etc.. in a ziploc bag and freeze them. I just fill it up as I cook through-out the week/month. When it comes time to make stock I pull the bag out and throw in the slow cooker with bones (or not! if you want a veggie stock). This is also a good way to empty out your crisper and use up those veggies that are about to turn.
Cover the lot with 8-9 cups of water or until everything is covered by water. Throw in some salt, a palm full of peppercorns and one bay leaf. Set that sucker to low and let it go overnight. The next morning you will have some amazing stock. Strain it over a bowl to separate out all of the veggies and bones. You can do an additional strain over cheesecloth but I usually don't. Pour it into a large mason jar and store in your fridge for a week. If you aren't going to use it right away, stick it in a freezer safe container and freeze it until you are ready to use it.
That's it! Rotisserie Chicken Three Ways! I apologize for the lack of pictures and organization. Maybe I will come back one day and fix this up nice and pretty for you. Enjoy!
