In the past, when I made chicken noodle soup, I boiled a chicken, let it cool down, de-boned it and made my soup. For Layered Chicken Nachos or Poppyseed Chicken, I'd boil a few chicken breasts, let them cool and cut them up. For BBQ Chicken Sandwiches, I'd cook boneless chicken thighs in the crock pot and then shred the meat. So many chicken recipes require cooked chicken.
One day, as I walked through Costco and saw the $4.99 rotisserie chickens, I made a startling realization. Those chickens were just like the chickens I often bought for $5 to $7 and then took home and cooked myself for use in my recipes. Purchasing these already cooked rotisserie chickens would save me time AND money, and since time IS money, this was a financially sound shortcut.
I'd never thought of this before and that day marked a change in the way I prepare most chicken dishes.
Now when I go to Costco with my two-week menu in hand (sometimes it's just my evening menu, but I really try to plan ahead), I buy three or four rotisserie chickens. At home, I de-bone them and divide them into freezer bags. I can usually get six meals out of four chickens. Then when I'm making one of our chicken recipes, I just pull a bag of chicken out of the freezer and I'm ready to go.
This how-to has actually changed my life. If you're smarter than me and you've been doing this forever, give yourself a little shout-out from me.
(Image from restaurantwidow.com)
Comments
By the way, I love Costco's chickens, they have such great flavor. Sometimes I will bring home a chicken and that is what we will have for dinner.