Chicky Chicky Chicken!

I am watching Beau play video games with my sister and her boyfriend and it almost makes me want to join in! Almost... :) I have never been much of a fan of these things unless it involves a little frog hopping across traffic to the river. I am very very competitive so I like instant gratification; meaning I like to win as quickly as possible. All of this shooting people, story lines, blah blah blah. It's just not my thing. But it sure is funny to watch other people play!

I would just cuddle up with a cup of hot chocolate and watch them contentedly except that it has been nagging at me that I promised some chicken recipes. So I thought I would take a moment to not only jot them down, but also to brag that I still have chicken in the fridge waiting to be eaten! One 3 pound whole chicken has been feeding us for days now, and it all started with a broth...

I have been obsessed with Nadia G lately (if you don't know who she is, you can look her up on the cooking channel's website) and I wanted to try a soup she made called Aztec soup. So I bought the stuff which ended up being very affordable and that is what started all of these chicken meals. The recipe only called for 1 cup of cooked chicken, but I wanted a whole one so I could make a broth. So I bought one little chicken friend and made a delicious broth. Usually I just stick the chicken, carved of its meat, in a crockpot and let it go on low over night. But this time I left the meat on, chopped it up to expose the marrow in the bones, and let it simmer with some vegetables (all chopped). I sauteed some carrot, celery, onion, and garlic in a stock pot. Then I added fresh oregano, threw the chicken into the pot and covered it with filtered water. I simmered it for 2 hours and let me tell you, the house smelled amazing! After I let it cool, I strained all of the broth into mason jars and hand picked all of the chicken off of the bones. There was already flavor in the chicken from cooking in the broth which is a nice added bonus.

As for the soup recipe it is a Nadia G recipe and I am not sure what the rules are about putting somebodies recipes on these things so I will just tell you this: you can look up the Aztec soup recipe by looking for Nadia G on cookingchannletv.com. It is a delicious, flavorful soup that is kind of spicy and very hearty. There is chicken, black beans, corn and wild rice in it. I used wild rice but I know the stuff is expensive and after eating it I would say that brown rice would work just as well. And she grills corn on the cob and then slices off the kernels and uses it in the soup but I am here to tell you that frozen corn does the job! And creme freche is her topping of choice; sour cream people. Let's keep it simple. Oh and one last thing, I could not find dried chipoltle peppers anywhere in my local grocery store- canned chipoltle peppers in that yummy sauce will do the trick. So take my little handy hints and try the recipe! It is well worth it.

And then for the rest of the chicken? That has been the fun part! Sure I could have done the obvious: chicken enchiladas, more chicken soup, etc. But I decided to just throw it in anything and everything. Chicken sandwiches for Beau to take to work with just lettuce tomato and cheese were simple and a nice change from lunch meat. Grilled cheeses with chunks of chicken, and then a personal favorite is this cheap box of spiral noodles in a cheddar cheese sauce (kind of like macaroni and cheese) and then just toss in chicken! My next meal will be tacos which is so super easy, just toss with some spices and grilled onions.

I know I didn't exactly give you any solid recipes to work with but I hope I at least gave you some ideas! So go out there friends and buy up some whole chickens, because they really do save money. Hence the name of this blog; there is so much to be done with Three pounds of chicken!

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Quick and Easy Chicken Enchilada Casserole

cooked leftover chicken
a mexican blend of shredded cheese
green or red canned enchilada sauce
corn tortillas

heat your enchilada sauce and soften your tortillas one by one in it before laying it in a casserole dish. layer down your chicken pieces, top with some cheese, then add another layer of tortillas. You can make another layer, or just top with lots of cheese and some extra sauce. Bake at 350 until the cheese is melted and it looks bubbly around the edges. let it cool a little before cutting and serving.

There are so many ways to fancy this up and make it amazing, so use this as a little rough draft and make your own masterpiece! Or make it as is for a quick dinner when you need something fuss free. It freezes very well and can definitely be made ahead of time and heated right before serving.