Rotisserie Chicken Dinners
3 Meals Utilizing 1 Rotisserie Chicken
Let me paint the scene:
The weather is starting to cool off, and the sun is beginning to set what feels like two hours too early. It’s becoming almost impossible to keep up with the fast pace of this new season, and you need to get dinner on the table sooner rather than later. Sure, takeout sounds like the next best option, but you already ate out 2 times this past week. You want a home-cooked meal, but you want it fast.
Let me present to you…
Three meals made from one rotisserie chicken.
One Grocery Haul
This one inexpensive grocery haul will result in at least 3 dinners. We’re utilizing lots of herbs, seasonal produce, pantry items (you likely already have), and one rotisserie chicken.
I’ve said it once, and I’ll say it again (and likely one million times more): You’ll find the best protein deals at Costco. This week, we’re featuring none other than the iconic $5 Costco Rotisserie Chicken. ❤️
Grocery List
Ingredients
Mirepoix
For me, autumn cooking screams the time for mirepoix—a flavor base commonly made up of diced onion, celery, and carrots—to shine.
Two of our three recipes this week will include mirepoix as a base flavor. That said, to make your life easier, I recommend prepping ALL carrots, celery, and onions for Meals #2 and #3 at the beginning of the week or while prepping Meal #2.
Herbs & “Herb Salsa”
For Meal #1 (Rice-Cooker Chicken & Lemon Rice) and Meal #2 (Greek Lemon Chicken & Rice Soup), we’ll be utilizing a variety of herbs—including dill and parsley—in a few different ways.
Most importantly, we’ll start the week by making an ✨Herb Salsa✨ with dill, lemon peel, parsley, scallions, garlic, and other ingredients. This will be primarily used as the sauce for the Rice-Cooker Chicken & Lemon Rice, but can also be used as a garnish for the Greek Lemon Chicken & Rice Soup.
A Note on “Herb Salsa”: I was initially going to refer to this as an Italian-style Salsa Verde with Dill and Lemon, given that it’s made up of most of the same ingredients, but after some deliberation, I’ve landed on “Herb Salsa,” similar to Samin Nosrat in Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat. So many cultures have their version of a green sauce, made up of parsley, additional herbs, garlic, salt, acid, and oil, that it doesn’t feel right to put it in one singular subcategory…so herb salsa it is!
30-minute Chicken Stock
Something that tends to be a topic of passionate conversation in the food community is chicken stock.
Everyone has their sentiments on the topic, whether it be a religious set of rules to follow when making stock from scratch or the attitude that it’s not that big of a deal.
For those who are particular about their chicken stock, you’re likely to be in the camp that no chicken stock will be good if it’s made in 30 minutes, so I’d recommend sticking to what you prefer.
For those who identify as the latter (stock isn’t that big of a deal), allow me to introduce you to the 30-minute Rotisserie Chicken Stock. It’s my recipe for when you’re short on time, don’t have the boxed stuff, want to use every ounce of your rotisserie chicken, and just want a liquid base that isn’t water. However, if you’re not feelin’ it, you can opt for the boxed stuff.
Breaking Down a Rotisserie Chicken
Video Demo (for Breaking Down a Rotisserie Chicken)
Portioning Out the Chicken
When using one rotisserie chicken for three meals, I recommend breaking it down at the beginning of the week to help portion it out accurately.
For Meal #1, you can use half of one chicken breast (since each breast is technically about 2 servings of meat), or you can use both breasts but remove the tenders to use for Meals #2 and #3 (as shown in the demo).
You’ll finish by shredding the meat from the remaining parts of the chicken (tenders, thighs, drums, oysters) for Meals #2 and #3.
If you or your family looooooves chicken and prefers double servings of meat (I totally get it), I’d recommend grabbing two rotisserie chickens instead of one. If you have leftover meat, you can always freeze it in an air-tight container for later use.
This week, we’re skipping protein substitutions since the theme quite literally revolves around rotisserie chicken. But if you’re vegetarian and still want to participate, I’d recommend tofu for Meal #1 and canned, shredded jackfruit for Meals #2 and #3.
Additional Substitutions
Parsley 🔄 Cilantro (for Meal #1)
Dill 🔄 Cilantro or Mint (for Meals #1 and #2)
Scallions 🔄 Shallot (for Meal #1)
Egg 🔄 Heavy Cream or Cornstarch Slurry (2 Tbsp cornstarch + 1/4 cup water)
Puff Pastry 🔄 Canned Biscuits (or Homemade)
AP Flour 🔄 Gluten-Free Flour
Rice-Cooker Chicken & Lemon Rice with Dilly Herb Salsa
Greek Lemon Chicken & Rice Soup (Avgolemono)
Chicken Pot Pie Skillet
Consolidated Recipes
As I mentioned last week, we’ll return to our 5-day meal plan next week (October 11).
Thank you for being the best, most understanding community a girl could ask for, and as always, thank you so much for being here.
Ciao for now, and happy cooking! 💖
Xo,
Zoe
This will be great for a partial week when you are about to leave town.
LOVE this idea for your three meal week!! We are huge fans of Costco rotisserie chickens - and also in desperate need of something easy this week. Can’t wait to try everything!