6/19/2010

The title of our blog is Breakfast with the Blandfords and was initially intended to be a place where we shared all the wonderful things that we created in our kitchen. I knew it had been awhile since I'd posted a recipe but it turns out the last time was 11/22/2008. Yes, you read that right! Almost a year and a half ago. Which is sad!!! We've been cooking up some great treats and I have lots of pictures from things we've created so hopefully I will get lots more recipes up soon.

I thought I would begin though with my new friend, rotisserie chicken. I've used this for years to make chicken and dumplings but never thought about creating additional uses for it. And then I had a baby and wanted yummy food that could be made quickly. The possibilities are truly endless but here are some of our current favorites.

I can get a rotisserie chicken at our local store for $5 which is a bargain if I've ever seen one! As soon as I get home I take all the meat off the bones. (As a side recipe, boil a giant pot of water. Put all the discarded skin and bones in the pot and boil for 6-8 hours. Add water as necessary. Strain the broth and place in freezer safe containers and you don't have to spend money on chicken stock. This saves us A LOT of money!) I don't mind dark meat if it's mixed with white meat but if you prefer to separate your meat that is fine too. I take 2 forks and shred the meat. I use shredded chicken in all the following recipes. To me it's easier to work with.

Here are 5 different things to do with all that chicken:
Make a Tex-Mex style chicken. I am a huge fan of Salsa Verde so I normally cook half of the chicken in salsa. By doing all this when you get home from the store and then refrigerating it, it allows you to heat and serve later in the week. Tex-Mex chicken can be used several ways but our favorites are enchiladas, quesadillas and taquitos. Even though it's the same chicken, it's different enough to us to have 2 of these meals in the same week. Here's my recipes:

Enchiladas:
Whatever sauce you used to cook the chicken, pour some in the bottom of a 9x13 and spread to cover the bottom of the pan. Cover with corn tortillas. Add the chicken mixture (that you've warmed in the microwave), Mexican cheese blend and then cover with more tortillas. Cover the tortillas with a thin layer of salsa and add more cheese. Bake at 350 until the cheese bubbles.

Taquitos:
Warm your chicken mixture in the microwave. Warm a few corn tortillas as well. (We prefer to do this in the oven or on our stove top. Not in the microwave!) Fill each tortilla with about 2 tablespoons of the chicken mixture. Roll and secure with a toothpick. Place rolled tortillas in hot oil on the stove top and turn once when the 1st side in is golden brown. Let cool and enjoy with salsa, sour cream or guacamole for dipping.

Quesadillas:
Warm you chicken mixture. Heat a large skillet and then add a flour tortilla, Mexican cheese blend and chicken. Top with another flour tortilla. Turn to brown tortillas. Let cool and then cut into triangles.

Ok...this post has already become very long! I'll add the other 2 recipes later today or tomorrow. And they don't involve using the same type of chicken in 3 different ways. :)