My Favorite Ways to Use Shredded Chicken

At least once a month (sometimes weekly) I buy a giant bulk pack of boneless skinless chicken breasts and cook them up in my slow cooker to use throughout the week/ month in other meals. Thanks to the help of my slow cooker and stand mixer all of this requires almost no effort on my part to have a head start on many days of dinners. Cooked shredded chicken is a great time saver that allows me to assemble many dinners in less than 30 minutes.

To cook the chicken I grease a slow cooker, add my cooking ingredients, place the chicken breasts on top, spooning some of the sauce over them and cook on low for 4-6 hours until the breasts easily shred when pulled with a fork. Do not overcook the chicken or it will become dry. Then I shred the chicken using the paddle attachment on my stand mixer (or you can use 2 forks if you don't have a stand mixer). Once the chicken is shredded I refrigerate and freeze it in 2 cup portions based on when I'm going to be using the chicken.

My sauces for cooking the chicken vary depending on how I'm going to use it. My go to is simply 1-2 cups of jarred salsa in the slow cooker. If I want a more versatile chicken then I'll do some combination of lemon juice, white wine, garlic and/ or dijon mustard. Or for an Asian twist I'll do soy sauce, honey, sriracha, ginger and garlic.

Click the links below to see my favorite ways to use up the cooked, shredded chicken once I have it on hand.

White Chicken Chili

Chicken Tortilla Soup

BBQ Chicken Quesadillas

Pulled BBQ Chicken Sandwiches

Thai Chicken Pizza

Brown Rice Chicken and Sausage Jambalaya

Gumbo

Chicken Enchiladas

White Chicken Enchiladas

Chicken Enchilada Casserole

Curried Chicken Salad

Curried Chicken Pasta Salad

Chicken Pot Pie

Chicken Tacos/ Burrito Bowls

Guacamole Chicken Salad

Cajun Chicken Pasta

Chicken Noodle Soup

Buffalo Chicken Dip

Char Siu Seasoned Chicken (make a sauce like I did with the pork and combine with shredded chicken and serve over rice)

Fried Rice

Black Beans Corn and Rice Casserole (with added chicken)

Chicken Pot Pie

Chicken Pot Pie

-4 Tbsp butter
-1 onion, diced
-1/4 flour
-3 cups chicken broth
-1/2 tsp turmeric
-1/2 tsp dried rosemary
-1/2 tsp dried thyme
-1/2 tsp salt
-1/2 tsp pepper
1/4 cup heavy cream
-2 cups cooked chicken, diced or shredded
-1 small bag frozen mixed vegetables
-1 sheet puff pastry
-1 egg, beaten

Melt butter in a medium to large pot over medium heat. Add onion and saute 5 minutes. Sprinkle the flour into the pan and cook an additional 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Whisk in broth and cook, while whisking 5 minutes, until the mixture thickens. Add the turmeric through frozen vegetables and stir well. Pour into a greased 13x9 pan.

Roll the pastry to fit the top (or you can cut it up and do a lattice pattern on top). Place the pastry over the filling and brush the top with the egg.

Bake at 375 for 30-40 minutes, until the pastry is brown and puffed. Let cool 10 minutes before serving.

Hummus

Hummus

I'm picky about the type of canned chickpeas that I'll use for hummus. I've used some brands that resulted in gritty hummus. I either recommend using Goya chickpeas straight out of the can, or if you're using another brand I recommend boiling them in their liquid for 10 minutes before starting to ensure that you are working with soft chickpeas. This hummus is a good blank slate, then you can customize by adding specialty ingredients like pesto, roasted red peppers, sundried tomatoes, artichokes, jalapeno etc. as desired.

-1 clove garlic
-1 (15 oz) can chickpeas, drained with 1/4 cup of liquid reserved
-juice of 1/2 lemon
-1 Tbsp olive oil
-2 Tbsp tahini
-1/2 tsp cumin
-1/8 tsp cayenne
-1/2 tsp salt

Place the garlic in a blender or food processor and finely chop. Add remaining ingredients and puree for 1-2 minutes until smooth. Serve immediately, or chill until serving and return to room temperature before eating. For a pretty presentation drizzle some olive oil over your bowl of hummus and sprinkle with fresh parsley or ground paprika before serving.

Brown Rice Chicken and Sausage Jambalaya

Brown Rice Chicken and Sausage Jambalaya

White rice can be used instead of brown in this recipe, but you will need to reduce the water by 1/2- 1 cup and reduce the cooking time.

-2 Tbsp olive oil
-1 lb andioulle sausage, sliced
-1 onion, diced
-1 bell pepper, diced
-6 cloves garlic, minced
-1 (29 oz) can diced tomatoes
-5 cups chicken broth
-2 tsp cajun seasoning
-1 bay leaf
-1 tsp dried thyme
-1 tsp dried oregano
-2-6 Tbsp hot sauce
-2 cups cooked chicken, shredded or diced
-2 cups brown rice
-chopped parsley or green onions for garnish

Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat. Cook sausage, stirring occasionally, until it is browned, about 10 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to set sausage aside. Add onion and bell pepper to the pot, saute 5 minutes. Add garlic, saute 1 additional minute. Add diced tomatoes, broth, cajun seasoning, bay leaf, thyme, oregano and hot sauce, bring to a boil. Add reserved sausage, chicken and brown rice, reduce heat to medium low, cover and simmer until rice is cooked (45-60 minutes), stirring occasionally and adding extra water if needed until rice is tender. Serve with desired garnishes.

Quick and Easy Chocolate and Salted Caramel King Cake

Quick and Easy Chocolate and Salted Caramel King Cake

I use the term King Cake very loosely in this recipe. Usually a king cake is made with a yeasty cinnamon roll-like dough that has to rise and ends up sort of dry and bread like before it is topped with lots of colored sugar. This is not something we are huge fans of around here- although living in New Orleans and rejecting king cake is almost sacrilegious. Recently I had a chocolate king cake that had almost a croissant like dough that I really enjoyed, so this is my quick and easy attempt to duplicate that.

-2 sheets puff pastry, thawed
-3 Tbsp cinnamon
-4 Tbsp brown sugar
-1 cup chocolate chips
-2-4 Tbsp milk
-1/4 cup caramel sauce (store bought or homemade)
-1/2 tsp sea salt for sprinkling
-1 eggs, beaten

Place the shorter end of one piece of puff pastry on a floured surface against the shorter end of another piece and press the edges together. Roll the dough into one long, thin rectangle.

Combine the cinnamon and brown sugar and sprinkle over the rectangle.

Melt the chocolate chips in a double boiler or by microwaving and stirring at 30 second intervals, Adding a tablespoon of milk at a time once melted to thin out the chocolate. Spread or drizzle the chocolate onto the puff pastry.

Drizzle the caramel sauce over the chocolate. Sprinkle the salt over the caramel.

Starting with one of the long ends of the rectangle start rolling the dough over itself to form one long strip of dough that has been rolled and rolled until all of the filling is on the inside. Place this long tube on a baking sheet covered with parchment and form it into a circle or oval, pressing the ends together. Brush the dough with the egg. Bake at 350 for 30-40 minutes until pastry is brown and puffy. Cool at least 10 minutes prior to serving.

(I usually bake mine a day ahead and heat the individual pieces in the microwave for 10 seconds prior to serving so that the chocolate is warm and melted)

Pumpkin Cobbler

Pumpkin Cobbler

This is one of our favorite desserts. It bakes up with a warm pumpkin pudding/ sauce on the bottom and a cake-like pumpkin layer on top. Serve it warm with a big scoop of vanilla ice cream on top.


-1 cup + 3 tablespoons all purpose flour
-2 teaspoons baking powder
-1/2 teaspoon salt
-3/4 cup granulated sugar
-1 teaspoon cinnamon
-1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
-1/4 teaspoon cloves
-1/2 cup pumpkin puree
-1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup melted butter
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

Topping:
-1/2 cup granulated sugar
-1/2 cup brown sugar
-1/4 cup chopped walnuts or pecans

-1 1/2 cups hot water

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, sugar and spices. Set aside.

In a small bowl, whisk pumpkin, milk, melted butter and vanilla together to combine. Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients and stir to form a thick batter. Pour into mixture into a greased 8 or 9 inch square casserole dish.

In a separate bowl, stir sugar, brown sugar and nuts together. Sprinkle the sugar/ nut mixture over the top of the batter evenly. Pour hot water over the entire thing. Do not stir. Bake for 40 minutes or until the middle is set. Cool 5-10 minutes before serving. 

Indian Spiced Lentil Stew

Indian Spiced Lentil Stew

Serve this hearty stew over brown rice (if desired) and with lots of fresh cilantro and scallions for topping.

-1 Tbsp olive oil
-1 onion. diced
-1 inch chunk of ginger, minced
-4 cloves garlic, minced
-1 (15 oz) can crushed or diced tomatoes
-4 cups vegetable broth
-1/2 tsp salt
-1 Tbsp cumin
-1/4 tsp cayenne
-1 c red lentils, rinsed
-1 lemon, thickly sliced
-fresh chopped cilantro and green onions for toppings

Heat oil in large pot over medium heat. Add onion and ginger and saute for 5-10 minutes. Add garlic and saute 1 additional minute. Add tomatoes, broth, salt, cumin, cayenne, lentils and lemon. Stir well and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to medium low, cover and cook for 25-30 minutes, until lentils are soft. Serve warm, over rice if desired, and topped with LOTS of fresh cilantro and green onions.