Randomly, every-once-and-awhile, I will think, "This would be interesting to blog about. I could be like one of those cool blogs that people pin over and over again on Pinterest because I took the time to write down something I did to save time and/or money and someone else thought it was amazing." Does anyone else think ever think that, or am I just weird?
So I decided to blog about something that may, or may not be amazing... it's at least interesting.
Did you know you can feed a family of four dinner for a (work)week with one rotisserie chicken? Okay and a few other ingredients; think Stone Soup. It is a great time and money saver. Monday I made a trip to Costco and bought a whole chicken for $4.99. For $5, I got enough meat for the whole week. That's awesome.
Day 1: Chicken and Pasta Caprese Salad
Make caprese salad, add noodles and shredded chicken. That's it. You can eat it both warm or cold. The kids like it cold, while Joe and I like it warmed up a bit better.
Day 2: Pad Thai
Photo courtesy of ec-padthai.com
This one seems complicated, but after making it a few times, it really isn't that hard. It may not be the most healthy meal, but is by far my families favorite and will continue to be on our menu every now and then because it's too good not to.
Sauce:
2 oz tamarind paste*
4 Tbs fish sauce
4 Tbs brown sugar
2 Tbs white vinegar
1-2 tsp peanut or olive oil
4 tsp minced garlic
8 oz rice noodles (pre-soaked)
shredded chicken to liking
4 whole eggs
6 oz bean sprouts
1/2 - 1 cup crushed peanuts
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
Combine sauce ingredients and set aside
In a skillet combine enough peanut or olive oil to coat the bottom and 4 tsp minced garlic. Saute for a minute or so. Add rice noodles, chicken, and sauce. Rice noodles must be pre-soaked before use or they won't be soft enough. This can be the tricky part. I usually get the sauce to boil then turn the heat to low. You want your noodles soft, but not soggy. Cook until the sauce is completely incorperated into the noodles.
While the noodles are stewing, cook 4 eggs in a separate pan.
Add eggs, bean sprouts, 1/2-1 cup crushed peanuts, and 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper to your skillet once the noodles are done cooking. We don't like spicy things around the Mogford household but the cayenne pepper is key to great flavor. If you like things on the spicy side, just add more cayenne.
* I have never been able to find tamarind paste so I use a substitute of equal parts white vinegar, soy sauce and sugar.
Day 3: Chicken Tacos
Photo courtesy of mychocolatetherapy.com
Instead of beef, I used the rotisserie chicken in my regular tacos.
Day 4: Chicken and Dumpling Soup
This is another one of my families favorites, and it sure saves time when you don't have to pre-cook the chicken. I found the recipe
here.
Day 5: Leftovers
We had a ton of soup and caprese salad left over. Sometimes we have Pad Thai leftovers, but it doesn't usually last till dinner the next night.
So there you have it, a work weeks worth of meals with one rotisserie chicken.
