Thursday, October 12, 2006

Weeknight Whip-up!

Another Rotisserie Chicken Makeover
So Easy, So Quick...So Tasty!!


I would like to dedicate this post to Maltese Parakeet. A few posts back Maltese Parakeet suggested I change my name to Rotisserie Chicken Annie because it seems I have been eating a lot of it lately. Maybe she's right!

I love using rotisserie chicken in place of raw chicken when I'm in a hurry. There is no mess, less worry about raw chicken juices contaminating the kitchen, therefore less clean-up. Plus I don't particularly enjoy touching raw chicken. Don't get me wrong, some recipes just will not work unless you use fresh raw chicken, but when I'm looking for a quick, healthy and tastly meal; the rotisserie chicken always fills the bill. Hehehe! Pardon the pun!

Whenever I buy a rotisserie chicken, I never eat the whole thing in one meal. I usually end up with left over chicken from one of those birds almost every time. I could probably post a recipe every week on all the ways I use it as leftovers!

This week is no exception. I had a half of cooked breast left and felt like trying something different for a change. So the search began for some ideas online. I kind of felt like eating something with a little bit of tang and wanted to use broccoli and green beans in the mix. I found a recipe for Sesame Shrimp Stir Fry that used teriaki sauce, sesame seeds and sugar snap peas. Yum.

Voila, my inspiration for this week's rotisserie chicken makeover.

Sesame Chicken & Veggie Stir Fry

2 cups water and 1 cup uncooked white rice (or use microwave ready rice)
1 rotisserie chicken breast half, cut into bite size pieces
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger (or fresh grated ginger)
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper 1 clove garlic, minced (or 1 teaspoon of pre-chopped garlic)
1 tablespoon sesame seeds, plus 1 teaspoon more for topping
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper 2 tablespoons sesame oil (or vegetable oil)
1 red bell pepper, sliced into thin strips (or1/4 cup jarred sliced roasted red pepper/pimentos)
1/2 small red onion, sliced (or 3 green onions, sliced)
3 tablespoons teriyaki sauce
1 1/2 cups broccoli florets & 1 1/2 cups green beans, steamed (or 1/2 pound sugar snap peas)
1/8 cup cornstarch
3/4 cup low sodium chicken broth
1/4 teaspoon salt, if necessary

DIRECTIONS

In a medium saucepan, bring salted water to a boil. Add rice, reduce heat, cover and simmer for 20 minutes. (I used Uncle Ben's Whole Grain Brown Ready Rice which cooks in 90 seconds in the microwave.)
While rice is simmering, combine chicken, ginger, cayenne pepper, garlic, 1 tablespoon sesame seeds and black pepper in a large bowl.
Heat a large wok or skillet and add the remaining teaspoon of sesame seeds. Watch carefully stirring often until light brown. Remove the seeds and set aside. Add the oil to the skillet. Add red bell pepper, onions and garlic; saute 3 to 4 minutes to soften slightly. Add teriyaki sauce. Add steamed broccoli, green beans and chicken with seasoning; saute 4 minutes or until everything is heated through. Stir cornstarch into chicken broth and add to wok; cook, stirring until mixture boils. Sprinkle with salt. Spoon chicken mixture over rice. Sprinkle with extra toasted sesame seeds.

This was one of the best left over dishes I've made yet. Maybe it is because I haven't had teriaki in a long time, but believe me it was good.

How often do you buy rotisserie chicken?

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

That looks really yummy, Annie.

We buy rotisserie chicken (or "cooked chook" as it is known here LOL) once a fortnight when I do my 'big' food shop. I figure if I have to spend the better part of 2 hours tramping around the supermarket with small children in tow I can't be expected to cook that night too! Cooked chook, coleslaw from the deli section and some fresh rolls - yum.

maltese parakeet said...

i think you should have a weekend event like sweetnick's weekend dog blogging or kalyn's weekend herb blogging...annie's weekend rotisserie chicken blogging! p.s. thanks for the shout out! :)

barb said...

Oh MP has a great challenge for you Annie rotisserie chicken is such a great invention for the busy times you just cannot get it done.
From one who utilizes a rotisserie chicken, I would welcome new ideas of what to do with the bird.

The Cookbook Junkie said...

I've only bought one once! For my parents when they were watching my son while I attended a wedding. Don't get me wrong, they're great, but in my book, stopping at the grocery store on my way home from work is a chore worse than cooking dinner from scratch (remember, I have a 2 1/2 year old with me).

Brilynn said...

I never buy it, but I do make it on the bbq! Winter or summer, it doesn't matter.

Artfully Yours said...

Annie,
That looks so good! I wonder, should I 2x or 3x the recipe for a hungry family of five? Also, I found that my local Safeway has TURKEY breasts in the case that has the rotiss chickens! And, the turkey is really good. I bought one and did a abbreviated Thanksgiving on a weeknight!!
Artfully,
Kim

The Cookbook Junkie said...

Okay, I bought another one, at Costco Saturday. I really wanted the wings and drummies but they were a lot more expensive. It was really good but there wasn't enough leftover to do anything else with it (except feed the scraps to the cat and he's in heaven.)

wheresmymind said...

I like rotisserie chicken, but always end up chowing it all ;)

Heather said...

You know, I have never bought a rotisserie chicken, apparently I am missing out. I know that Martha Stewart uses the left overs a lot.
I also do not like to touch raw chicken, but I don't like to get anywhere near the bones so this still my cause issues for me. I use Louis Rich cooked and seasoned tenders for a lot of my chicken dishes.

Anonymous said...

I love to get them from Costco--much bigger than the usual supermarket bird for the same price as an uncooked chicken! After a shopping trip to the big C with two kids in tow, I'm all about a ready made meal! Lately my 11 yr old has been requesting chicken & dumplings for the next night's meal...