“It’s just the two of us, we can’t eat a whole chicken!” is a similar statement we hear quite often. We are also just two adults (and a baby) and we love doing up whole chickens. The trick that we have found works for our family is not using the leftover chicken as leftovers. What do you mean by that? Well, instead of doing up the chicken in the oven and then eating it as leftovers, we use the leftover chicken for different meals. I’ll give you some examples…

The First Meal

I defrost the chicken (if needed) and place it in my stone baker (9X13). I rub fresh pressed garlic on top and sprinkle on salt and pepper. I then pour melted butter over the chicken (this helps to keep more moisture inside – although not necessary). I bake it in the oven at 350 degrees F for about 20 minutes/pound (2 hours for a 6 pound chicken) or until internal temperature of 180 degrees. It’s usually served with a potato (mashed or baked) and corn or beans.

Important Step

Once the first meal has been served and you’ve eaten until your bellies are full: pull all the meat off the bones before refrigerating. Once you put the chicken in the fridge, it will be much more difficult to pull the meat off the bones. Right after the first meal take the time to pull the meat off the bones and immediately refrigerate.

Second Meal

Chicken tacos. I take some of the meat out of the fridge and place it in the pan with some of the juices from the first meal. I put in taco seasoning and I quickly have taco meat.

Third Meal

Sometimes when I bake up the initial meal, I have so many leftover! I don’t know about you, but I get tired of them very quickly. Instead of reheating the leftovers, I turn it into a pot pie. I take a pan and dump in all the leftover vegetables and cut up baked potatoes. I go into the freezer and add vegetables such as peas, carrots, beans, corn, etc. I add the chicken and some of the juices from the initial meal. I thicken up the sauce with some cornstarch. I sometimes add heavy whipping cream if I want a creamier pot pie or different seasonings depending on what I want it to taste like. Cook the mixture until the vegetables are almost cooked through. I then place it in an unbaked pie crust and put it in the oven for about an hour. You can also refrigerate or freeze the pot pie for later use.

Fourth Meal

Chicken salad or chicken on tossed salad. Either works. I personally am not a big fan of salads, but if you add enough toppings, you could entice me to eat a salad.

What other meals can you think of to make out of leftover chicken?