- Chicken stock: I boil and simmer the carcass with celery, carrots, and an onion quartered with the skin on. Did you know that it's the onion skin that gives the stock the yummy golden color?
- Chicken tortilla soup: I use the carcass stock and adapted from The Pioneer Woman's recipe. I replaced the bell peppers with a bag of frozen mixed veggies (corn, peas, carrots, and green beans) and used the rotisserie chicken instead. I loosely halved the recipe. PS. The cornmeal makes a huge difference - don't skip that step (it was worth the $2.29 splurge on the box!). Topped with cilantro and low-sodium Fritos.
- Chicken pot pie: Adapted from my gal pal. I used regular milk instead of cream, bouillon cubes instead of stock, and only one pie crust (used on top). Changes were made because I'm cheap and trying to keep costs down. And I also added in a finely diced potato.
- Chicken nachos: This is more assembling and opening cans than cooking. Saute chicken with diced onions with a bit of salt and a couple big shakes of chili powder. I toast tortilla chips and top with the chicken, a box of Mexican-Style Rice-A-Roni, and can of vegetarian chili. I finish off with cheese and avocados if I want to make it fancy.
- Chicken salad: Nothing special. Mix with the usual mayo, pepper and a couple squeezes of Heinz relish. I add chopped up bits of celery and/or apples if I'm feeling ambitious.
Next up, I'm going to try chicken congee (Chinese chicken and rice porridge). What are some other affordable and easy recipes?
