Playing Chicken

Recently my schedule was nuts and filled with non-stop deadlines—a “hundred balls in the air with your hair on fire” kinda time—and I was dragging. Believe me, my kitchen was the last place I wanted to be, but the family was always hungry.

At times like this, I depend on store-bought rotisserie chickens for their flavor, versatility and reasonable cost. Most are only a few cents more than their uncooked counterparts and someone else does all the work. My biggest decision is usually what flavor to buy: rosemary-honey, lemon-thyme, and teriyaki with sesame seeds to name a few.

During that hectic week, I hatched a strategy to pull off three meals with one main ingredient that didn’t scream leftovers. A trip to the market yielded four rotisserie chickens, lots of different veggies for roasting and salads, loaves of good bread, a box of my favorite pre-made pie dough—and some wicked chocolate ice cream with all sorts of lumps and bumps of goodies that I may or may not share.

Day 1: Rotisserie chickens and herb roasted vegetables.
Sunday dinner is super easy—two piping hot rotisserie chickens on a platter surrounded by mounds of crisp, herb roasted vegetables. I find chopping vegetables like potatoes, carrots, celery and onions therapeutic; I can solve the problems of the world, or at least slow its chaos, with a big, sharp chef’s knife in hand. Add a bit of olive oil, salt and pepper and a couple of sprigs of rosemary to the chopped veggies and you’re on your way to a perfect meal. Add warm, crusty bread and butter and everyone will wonder how you do it.

Day 2: Homemade chicken soup.
Mondays are always busy with work, school and family schedules. Comfort me! Hearty chicken noodle soup soothes and nourishes, is fairly inexpensive and the kids love it. Best of all, it takes 30 minutes or less when you start with a rotisserie chicken. And the scent alone is enough to melt away your Monday blues.

Feeling better? We’re on a roll. Add some extra cooked noodles to your leftover soup and store it in the refrigerator overnight. While you’re sleeping the noodles absorb the remaining stock and flavor, creating hearty and delicious chicken-and-noodles for school and work lunches.

Day 3: Chicken pot pies
It’s Tuesday and life is looking up. Pot pies made with rotisserie chickens are the best I’ve ever eaten. All that’s required is cutting up the chicken, chopping the vegetables, making a simple creamy gravy and topping everything with store-bought pastry baked to golden flakiness.

Four rotisserie chickens made three easy, full-flavored meals that the entire family enjoyed. And if that weren’t enough, I froze the chicken carcasses for next time I feel like making stock. In other words, even on a hectic week I came out ahead of the game. And that’s delicious.