Another Leftover Chicken Recipe or Three

Here's another leftover chicken recipe, or actually several, which also work for leftover turkey and any of the other white meats. The point is to use up what's already been paid for, isn't it?

I recently read a post on a blog about how much land it takes to raise a chicken and it was an eye-opener. Can you imagine that having only one chicken a week requires 24,300 sq. ft.of land over the course of a year. If one square mile has 27,878,400 square feet, (and it does, according to Wiki), do the math and that is 0.09% of a square mile just to raise a chicken a week for one family! I can't even bear to find out what that is for a cow. Later, maybe.

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So back to our leftover chicken or turkey recipe - here are some ideas. As before, it is meaningless to list ingredients to run out and buy because it misses the point for using up what you've got. Still, you want dinner to be appealing and probably, you don't want to advertise to the family that your leftover pork roast or whatever white meat you have came from Tuesday.

You might cube the chicken and mix it with a curry sauce. In general, I find that leftovers fare better with stronger sauces and seasonings than they did when served whole. Serve over leftover cooked rice reheated briefly in the microwave. If you have canned water chestnuts, add that. Maybe some raisins or fresh mango or drained mandarin oranges if they're hanging around.

Leftover Chicken Recipe #2

Another idea. Cut your leftover chicken into large cubes (1" on a side), combine with grapes cut in half (seedless), toast some nuts (whatever but walnuts are great), peel an apple and cut into chunks, add the tiniest bit of mayonnaise you can stand. Mix and serve over a bed of thinly sliced lettuce. This is a Waldorf salad once in fashion but not so much anymore. Taste buds don't know about fashion, so if this is what you've got, use it up. Serve at room temp. If it looks a little bare, add an ice cream scoop of cottage cheese next to the Waldorf.

Recipe #3 for Using Leftover Turkey or Chicken as a Soup

Did you have one of those delightful rotisserie chickens earlier in the week? Pretty much all you have left is the carcass with a little meat on it? Cheryl B. (one of the most intuitive home cooks I know) clued me in on this one. I had always used chicken for soups but until her tip, I only started it from the raw state. To make a hearty chicken soup, take a soup pot, fill halfway with water (or even better, chicken broth and perhaps the liquid from a can of carrots -- don't throw the liquids away from canned goods). If the liquid is good enough to bathe the veggies in the can, it's fit to use for cooking, too), throw the carcass in with bay leaf, 5 peppercorns, and a quartered onion. Bring to a boil.

Turn down the heat to a simmer, and reduce to about 2/3 of the liquid. This is where I would empty the dishwasher(s) - I have two and I LOVE it. Now pull out and let the carcass cool. Fish out the bay leaves and the spent onion. Sweat some coarsely chopped onions and celery with a little olive oil - don't brown. Throw that in with the canned, drained carrots. If you have some potatoes, this can go in as cubes. OR, use up that one cup of white plain rice instead and throw it in. Serve with an artisan bread.

At this point you could go further by choosing one of the two ideas that follow -- but not both! Don't use the potatoes with the second option but they will go well with the cream soup.

Creamy Chicken Soup

You can make this a creamy soup if you like but it's optional. Take out a cup of the broth and put it in a small bowl, let it cool slightly and add 2 T of flour, whisk. Drizzle that into the pot slowly, whisking quickly, finish with about a quarter cup of cream or half and half. Pull whatever chicken is left off the bone and put it back in. If you have pearl barley, throw it in. Simmer until the thickness suits you and the barley is cooked.

With Dumplings for the Wee Ones

An enhancement that is totally unnecessary but pleases children is to get out your Bisquick and make the dumplings as per the box directions, then put dollops of that on the top of your finished, simmering soup and then LEAVE IT ALONE, DON'T STIR. Cover and simmer until the dumplings are cooked through by the rising, flavored steam below.

Minestrone

OR, make it a minestrone by adding a can of tomatoes with the juice, a can of beans (white beans or chick peas - don't use the liquid from the beans because it tends to thicken the soup unless you want that and don't try to use black beans or seasoned chili beans) and if you have any leftover plain spaghetti, add it. Zucchini would be good in this if it's around. Add in basil, thyme and oregano - all about coin size in the bowl of your hand. Shredded cabbage (not too much, one handful, it overwhelms) and this is the perfect place to throw in spinach if it's available - two handfuls should do.

Note that minestrone is usually made with beef stock but the truth is, they are pretty much interchangeable unless you are a five star restaurant. The difference between broth and stock of either the meat or the poultry is not enough to worry about so use what you've got. Stock has been prepared with bone, cartilage and marrow and makes a richer flavor than the broth made from the meat.

If your soup looks too thin, keep reducing on a simmer. If too thick, add a little broth. Minestrone is always better the next day for lunch.

Alternative Leftover Ideas

Since this is an important topic in the average American home, we offer more suggestions. Remember that everything that applies to chicken, will probably work for turkey, and possibly even pork and fish.

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