I’m doing an entire post on chicken? What? Yup. I am.
I love my tips and tricks on Fridays and Sheaffer over at Pinterest Told Me To loves her 3 Favorite Things…so this Friday, we’re uniting…for the good of fashion and food.
Here’s the thing…and I’ll keep this brief…so many great recipes require shredded chicken (pasta dishes, casseroles, soups, tacos, enchiladas, appetizers…I could go on and on). And if you ask me, it’s a big fat pain to boil up my chicken, wait for it to cook, remove it and wait for it too cool, shred it and then start preparing my meal. That adds another 20 to 30 minutes on top of my dinner, and I don’t have time for that. So…here’s how I get my chicken done ASAP…I have 3 favorite ways…
1. I buy a rotisserie chicken from the grocery store and shred that baby. The meat is always tender and moist, it’s super quick, and the chicken is waiting on you instead of vice versa. You can buy these a day or two in advance and just pop them in your fridge until you’re ready to use them. I find that one rotisserie chicken provides enough chicken for one regular, family meal.
2. I bake off my chicken in the morning while I’m getting ready for the day. Place foil on a baking sheet, spray it with Pam, toss your chicken on there from the fridge (not frozen) and bake for 25 minutes at 350 degrees. Remove from the oven, let it cool down a bit, store it in a big Ziploc baggie or food storage container, refrigerate and then when you get home that evening, the chicken is cooked and waiting on you.
3. This is my favorite way…I cook my chicken on low in the slow cooker all day until I get home and am ready to eat it. You can put the chicken in there frozen or thawed and it cooks up the same. After 6 or 8 hours, the chicken is ready to go and shreds so easily. Plus, this is a great opportunity to flavor my chicken a bit. You could just add the chicken in the slow cooker with 4 cups of water…or you could add in 4 cups of salsa if you’re preparing a Mexican meal that night…or some Italian salad dressing if you’re making Italian fare. You can add chicken stock for extra flavor or even a can of cream soup. The whole point is, the chicken is fully cooked and waiting on me to shred and add it to a casserole, pasta dish, enchilada stack, etc. Try it and you’ll be hooked. Don’t forget to use a slow cooker liner for easy clean-up too!
That’s it! My 3 favorite ways to prepare chicken for a recipe. And here are 3 of my favorite chicken recipes:
1. Skillet Chicken Spaghetti
2. Enchilada Suiza Stack
3. Chicken and Black Bean Casserole
1. Skillet Chicken Spaghetti
2. Enchilada Suiza Stack
3. Chicken and Black Bean Casserole
Happy Friday!
Sheaffer {Pinterest Told Me To} says
For the love of fashion and food. Yep, we're givers. And this reminded me that I've never made the Enchilada Suiza stack. I'm gonna need to do that soon!
JenniferW says
Shay,
I LOVE cooking a whole chicken in my slow cooker. I put an onion (cut in large chunks) in the bottom, put the chicken on top and turn it on…no liquid added. Turns out perfect.every.time.
But here is a trick you might enjoy…after I pull the meat off of the chicken, I put the bones back into my crockpot, fill it up with water and let it cook on low over night to make the easiest chicken stock ever!
In the morning, I drain the liquid, portion it and freeze it for use in soups, etc. You will never buy chicken broth from the store again, I promise. It's THAT good!
Davis Family says
Now just take your cooked chicken and shred it in your kitchen aid mixer with the paddle attachment. I saw it on Pinterest and it has changed my life! I hate shredding chicken! 20 seconds and BAM, perfectly shredded chicken. 🙂