Showing posts with label Leftovers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Leftovers. Show all posts
How did we ever cook anything in the old days without the world wide web to inspire us. I had only two cookbooks when I first started out (plus a host of clippings in my Big Blue Binder). The Fanny Farmer Cooking School and Madame Benoit Cooks at home.
These days we have a wealth of recipes and cooking ideas at our fingertips to draw from. I am always being inspired by something that I see. Now there is only me however, I try to cut everything down to feed only one or two people. I know I am not alone in having that need.
.JPG "Cracked Out Chicken Tater Tot Casserole")
Unless I'm having company, full-sized recipes just don't cut it for me anymore. But that doesn't mean I can't still be inspired by full-sized recipes. The other day I saw a recipe for a Cracked-Out Chicken Tater Tot Casserole on a blog called Plain Chicken.
It looked great and sounded amazing. Of course, I did make a few adaptations to the size of it and how I put it together. In other words, I put my own twist on it. I cut it down to feed only two, or maybe three people, depending on how hungry everyone is.
.JPG "Cracked Out Chicken Tater Tot Casserole")
Baked until the filling is bubbling and gooey and those tater tots are crisp and golden brown. In short, what you have here is a chicken casserole that goes above and beyond a chicken casserole in a most delicious way!
.JPG "Cracked Out Chicken Tater Tot Casserole")
The original recipe used twice as many tater tots and had them stirred into the chicken mixture. Soggy tater tots didn't impress me much and so I opted to pop them on top so that they stayed nice and crispy.
I also had a half a can of green beans which needed using and so I stirred them into the mix, along with some French-fried onions from the can. It's like the combination of a chicken casserole with a green bean casserole, all topped with tater tots and cheese. In short, scrummy yummy!
.JPG "Cracked Out Chicken Tater Tot Casserole")
This is a store cupboard dream of a casserole. Stir, spread, and bake.
- 1 cooked boneless skinless chicken breast
- 1/2 cup (60g) dairy sour cream
- 1/2 tin of condensed cream of chicken soup (freeze the remainder for another day)
- 1/2 TBS dry ranch dressing mix
- 2 slices of streaky bacon, cooked crisp and crumbled
- 1/2 cup (120g) grated cheddar cheese, plus a few TBS to scatter on top
- 2 TBS crushed crispy salad onions (such as the French's)
- 1/2 can cut green beans, drained (freeze the remainder for another day)
- 20 frozen tater tots, unthawed
.JPG "Cracked Out Chicken Tater Tot Casserole")
If you also have some leftover cooked ham, you could leave out the bacon and add the ham in its place. Then it would be like a chicken cordon blu casserole. Sounds lush eh?
You don't have to use canned green beans, you could use thawed frozen, or even leftover cooked green beans. Don't like green beans? Use a vegetable that you do like and that you have, or any combination of vegetables. I can promise you it will still taste fabulous!!
.JPG "Cracked Out Chicken Tater Tot Casserole")
HOW TO MAKE CRACKED OUT CHICKEN TATER TOT CASSEROLE
This is truly easy peasy lemon squeasy. Trust me. I'm lazy and if I only have one baking dish to clean, so much the better.
Preheat the oven to 350*F/180*C/ gas mark 4. Butter a small casserole dish. Mine is about 6 by 8 inches. Set aside.
Mix together in a bowl, the chicken, sour cream, soup, dressing mix, bacon, cheese (except for the few TBS to sprinkle), green beans and crispy salad onions. Spread into the prepared casserole dish.
Lay the tater tots over top of the chicken mixture evenly.
Bake in the preheated oven for 35 minutes. Remove from the oven and sprinkle the remaining cheese on top. Return to the oven for about 10 minutes. At the end of that time, it should be bubbly and golden brown. Serve hot.
.JPG "Cracked Out Chicken Tater Tot Casserole")
All you need on the side is maybe a salad. Crusty bread if you are really hungry. This is truly delicious and such a simple thing to make.
If you are a fan of chicken casseroles, you may also like the following chicken casseroles:
GRANDMA'S CHINESE CHICKEN CASSEROLE - This is one of my all-time favorite chicken casseroles. I can't begin to tell you why it is called a Chinese casserole because there doesn't seem to be anything remotely Chinese about it. Not unless you count the crispy chow mien noodles and salted cashew nuts on top! Everything else reads like an ordinary chicken casserole!
CHICKEN AND DUMPLING CASSEROLE FOR TWO - This is a "just-like-magic" kind of an entree. Almost like a pudding cake. You know the ones I mean . . . the self-saucing ones, except this is not a sweet pudding, it's a savory delicious casserole, with a rich chicken filling and moreish dumpling topping that forms like magic while the casserole bakes.
Cracked Out Chicken Tater Tot Casserole
Yield: 2 - 3
Prep time: 5 MinCook time: 45 MinTotal time: 50 Min
This is amazingly delicious. Sized perfectly for the smaller family. This is a lick your plate clean kind of a casserole.
Ingredients
- 1 cooked boneless skinless chicken breast
- 1/2 cup (60g) dairy sour cream
- 1/2 tin of condensed cream of chicken soup (freeze the remainder for another day)
- 1/2 TBS dry ranch dressing mix
- 2 slices of streaky bacon, cooked crisp and crumbled
- 1/2 cup (120g) grated cheddar cheese, plus a few TBS to scatter on top
- 2 TBS crushed crispy salad onions (such as the French's)
- 1/2 can cut green beans, drained (freeze the remainder for another day)
- 20 frozen tater tots, unthawed
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350*F/180*C/ gas mark 4. Butter a small casserole dish. Mine is about 6 by 8 inches. Set aside.
- Mix together in a bowl, the chicken, sour cream, soup, dressing mix, bacon, cheese (except for the few TBS to sprinkle), green beans and crispy salad onions. Spread into the prepared casserole dish.
- Lay the tater tots over top of the chicken mixture evenly.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 35 minutes. Remove from the oven and sprinkle the remaining cheese on top. Return to the oven for about 10 minutes. At the end of that time, it should be bubbly and golden brown.
- Serve hot.
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I am a person who likes to use up all of my leftovers. I have always been that way. My mother always said I was a magician with my leftovers because I always managed to make them taste just as good as the original meal if not better.
I suppose there is a knack to it. I guess it is all down to knowing what flavors and textures go together. I don't find my leftovers to be boring at all. In fact I often like the leftovers more than the original meal!
.JPG "Granny's Deviled Chicken")
This deviled chicken recipe I am sharing with you today uses leftover cooked chicken. On or off the bone. You could also use it for leftover turkey or pheasant. It goes good with any kind of poultry.
What I love about it is that it goes together very quickly and easily. You can have this tasty dish sitting on the table in less than half an hour which makes it perfect for those nights when you are rushed off your feet but you still want to (or need to!) get a tasty meal on the table in quick time!
.JPG "Granny's Deviled Chicken")
The original recipe comes from this cookbook that was gifted to me by a dear friend the other day. It is a book that I had in the UK, but was unable to bring back to Canada with me.
She surprised me with my very own new copy of it and what can I say, it moved me to tears! I was so pleased to get it.
The Good Granny Cookbook, by Jane Fearnley-Whittingstall. She is the mother of Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall who is a very popular cook over in the UK, having hosted the River Cottage series on the television over there.
.JPG "Granny's Deviled Chicken")
Thank you so much Ginny. This was a very well thought out and thoughtful gift. I so appreciate it and you should know that I will get a lot of use from it.
Point being I have only had it for two days and am already cooking from it!
If you, my readers, can get your hands on a copy of it, I highly recommend it. It is a simple book. There are no photographs in it, but it is filled to overflowing with excellent recipes for robust, nostalgic and wholesome food!
.JPG "Granny's Deviled Chicken")
This recipe I am sharing is a very simple one. The original recipe didn't really give quantities or temperatures at all. (Kind of like the recipes in Grandma's notebook!) I figured it out and am sharing exactly what I did.
You begin with pieces of cooked chicken. You want to keep them a bit on the large size. I used two legs and breast cut in half. You can leave the skin on or off as you please.
.JPG "Granny's Deviled Chicken")
The pieces of chicken are placed into a baking dish and a spicy paste of brown sugar, mustard, Worcestershire sauce and butter is spread over top of it.
This is then baked in a moderate oven until heated through and glazed. Easy peasy, lemon squeasy and oh so delicious!
.JPG "Granny's Deviled Chicken")
WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE GRANNY'S DEVILED CHICKEN
These are simple store cupboard ingredients, but then again, that's how granny cooked! There is no pretense here! Five simple ingredients including the chicken.
- Cooked chicken in large pieces (can also use turkey) (enough for two people)
- 1/4 cup (55g) butter, room temperature
- 1 1/2 TBS Dijon mustard
- 1 TBS soft light brown sugar, packed
- 1 1/2 TBS Worcestershire Sauce
.JPG "Granny's Deviled Chicken")
The brown sugar is just what you have for baking. I packed it tightly into the spoon.
The original recipe called for English mustard, which is very hot. I didn't have any of that so I used Dijon mustard in its place, which also has a bit of heat. You could use a grainy one for a bit of texture if you wanted to.
Worcestershire sauce. Such a fun word to pronounce. "Wooster-sher" That's the proper way.
.JPG "Granny's Deviled Chicken")
HOW TO MAKE GRANNY'S DEVILED CHICKEN
As I said nothing could be easier. Just mix the deviled ingredients into a paste, spread it on the chicken and bake. It may look a bit curdled, but that's okay. It will all melt together.
If the look of it being curdled bothers you I would suggest heating the ingredients and whisking them into a homogenous mixture and then drizzling it over the chicken. This would work very well.
Make sure you make some deep cuts in the chicken so that the mixture gets down into the meat and flavors it beautifully. This is finger licking good, I promise you!
.JPG "Granny's Deviled Chicken")
She had suggested eating it with mashed potatoes. This isn't the season for potatoes for mashing and so I just quickly baked a small russet potato in the microwave and served it with some butter, salt and black pepper.
I took the lazy way out today and heated up some frozen vegetables. Cauliflower and broccoli in cheese sauce. Altogether it was very good!
.JPG "Granny's Deviled Chicken")
Easy BBQ Chicken Tostadas - Crisp charred Tortillas topped with a delicious mix of shredded leftover cooked chicken, spicy chipotle paste, BBQ sauce and cheese.
Baked until the cheese melts and drizzled with more BBQ sauce and some chopped spring onions. All you need is a salad on the side!
Chicken Dinner Poutine - Crisp chips, melting cheese, chicken, gravy, stuffing and peas. This is such a simple thing and yet the flavors are amazing.
If you are a fan of the Canadian dish called Poutine, then you best prepare yourself to fall in love because this is one of the tastiest versions I have ever eaten! Its like a deconstructed chicken pot pie without the crust and there's fries. Yummy delicious fries.
Amish Chicken & Stuffing Casserole -This is one of my absolute all time favorite chicken casseroles. Not only is is a great way to use up stale bread, but you can also use up leftover cooked chicken or even turkey, or you can cook chicken specifically just to use in it. Stale bread, butter softened celery and onion, a variety of herbs, seasoning and tender poached chicken. Delicious!
Granny's Deviled Chicken
Yield: 2
Prep time: 10 MinCook time: 15 MinTotal time: 25 Min
A simply delicious way to use up leftover cooked chicken, on or off the bone. You can also use rotisserie chicken for this.
Ingredients
- Cooked chicken in large pieces (can also use turkey) (enough for two people)
- 1/4 cup (55g) butter, room temperature
- 1 1/2 TBS Dijon mustard
- 1 TBS soft light brown sugar, packed
- 1 1/2 TBS Worcestershire Sauce
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350*F/180*C/ gas mark 4. Place your chicken pieces into a shallow oven-proof dish with sides. Score the surface deeply in a few places, but take care not to cut all the way through.
- Whisk together the butter, brown, sugar, mustard and Worcestershire sauce until smooth. It may look a bit curdled but that's okay. You want a spreadable mixture.
- Spread this mixture over the top of the pieces of chicken evenly.
- Bake in the pre-heated oven for 12 to 15 minutes until heated through and glazed.
- Serve hot with potatoes and a side vegetable
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I think Roast Chicken has to be one of the favorite things we eat in my house. I know there is just me now, but I often roast a chicken when I am having company over for dinner. Not only is it delicious, but it is also highly practical and I find it to be quite economical as well.
You get your roast dinner on the first day, and then you get at least two or three more meals from it, depending on the size of your chicken. Usually at the very least a casserole, some sandwiches, and always a delicious soup.
You don't even have to have the leftovers from a home roasted chicken, maybe you have a rotisserie chicken that you have picked up from the store on the way home from work or whatever. There is no end to the delicious things you can do with the meat from a rotisserie chicken!
And it doesn't just have to be the same old same old either. I am sharing 10 tasty ideas here today to use some of that cooked chicken that are exciting and delicious and most are a tiny bit different than the usual.
I guarantee you will find something here to please any palate and at the end, a delicious soup to make with the bones! Enjoy!
Spaghetti with Roasted Chicken and Shredded Brussels - Leftover roast chicken tossed together with buttery soft shredded Brussels sprouts, whole wheat spaghetti, garlic and cheese.
Amazingly delicious! A great way to use up what's left of any leftover chicken you might have languishing in the refrigerator. (or a rotisserie chicken)
Easy BBQ Chicken Tostadas - Crisp charred Tortillas topped with a delicious mix of shredded leftover cooked chicken, spicy chipotle paste, BBQ sauce and cheese.
Baked until the cheese melts and drizzled with more BBQ sauce and some chopped spring onions. All you need is a salad on the side!
Crusty Chicken Pot Pie Buns - Leftover cooked chicken and vegetables in a tasty, creamy sauce. Stuffed into a hollowed out crusty roll and topped with stuffing. These are then baked until the filling is hot and bubbling and heated through.
No faffing about with rolling out pastry. These are quite simply a delicious way to use up what's in the refrigerator. If you have leftover gravy, so much the better!
Mexican Chicken Club Flatbread - You can use any single sized flat breads for this that you like. Even Naan. Refried Black beans are topped with cheese and then with a mix of sautéed onions, peppers and spicy chicken.
This gets baked in the oven until the cheese melts and then they are served drizzled with a spicy Chipotle Ranch dressing and crisp slices of bacon. You can serve with a side of guacamole and some sour cream for a supper that will please everyone!
Garlic Cheddar Chicken & Rice - This is almost like an oven baked rice pilaf. Its all very simple to make. Just mix the chicken, rice, some chicken stock, grated cheddar and your seasonings together in a casserole dish.
Cover and bake. Simple to make and oh so delicious with a cooked vegetable on the side.
Chicken Dinner Poutine - Crisp chips, melting cheese, chicken, gravy, stuffing and peas. This is such a simple thing and yet the flavors are amazing.
If you are a fan of the Canadian dish called Poutine, then you best prepare yourself to fall in love because this is one of the tastiest versions I have ever eaten! Its like a deconstructed chicken pot pie without the crust and there's fries. Yummy delicious fries.
Chicken Parm Pasta Skillet - Pasta, sauce and protein cooking all in the same pan on top of the stove. I love cooking pasta this way. It doesn't get over cooked, staying al dente, and the pasta absorbs even more of the flavour from the sauce . . . it gets right in there.
Gooey, cheesy with plenty of spiced chicken. Can you say yummilicious? No fuss, no muss and very little to clean up.
Served atop a tasty salad with a nice mix of vegetables, dried cranberries and cheese. It is drizzled with a delicious honey mustard dressing. This main dish salad always goes down a real treat.
Grandma's Chinese Chicken Casserole - If you are looking for an extra creamy, delicious and rich chicken casserole to feed yourself and your partner, with some added crunchy toppings then you have just struck gold. This is the one for you!
Celery, cashew nuts, crunchy chow mein noodles, a delicious sauce, plenty of chicken. There is not much about this tasty casserole not to fall in love with! Its a delicious old fashioned favorite!
Amish Chicken & Stuffing Casserole - I saved the best for last! This is one of my absolute all time favourite chicken casseroles. Not only is is a great way to use up stale bread, but you can also use up leftover cooked chicken or even turkey, or you can cook chicken specifically just to use in it.
Stale bread, butter softened celery and onion, a variety of herbs, seasoning and tender poached chicken mixed with a tiny bit of stock and baked to give you one very delicious and simple entree.
So there you have it! Ten delicious recipes to use up your leftover cooked chicken in, or the meat from a purchased Rotisserie Chicken, but that's not all. You can also make a delicious soup from the leftover bones and any meat left clinging to them.
This is a delicious Chicken with Stars Soup. You can find that recipe on this page. Just scroll down about halfway. Its fabulous!
This content (written and photography) is the sole property of The English Kitchen. Any reposting or misuse is not permitted. If you are reading this elsewhere, please know that it is stolen content and you may report it to me at: mariealicejoan at aol dot com
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