Fast Chicken Prep (3 ways)
so many great recipes require shredded chicken (pasta dishes, casseroles, soups, tacos, enchiladas, appetizers). It's a big fat pain to boil up my chicken, wait for it to cook, remove it and wait for it too cool, shred it and then start preparing my meal. That adds another 20 to 30 minutes on top of my dinner, and I don't have time for that. So, here's how I get my chicken done ASAP. I have 3 favorite ways.
Ingredients
- Your choice of chicken!
Preparation
Step 1
1. Rotisserie chicken from the grocery store, and shred. The meat is always tender and moist, it's super quick, and the chicken is waiting on you instead of vice versa. You can buy these a day or two in advance and just pop them in your fridge until you're ready to use them. One rotisserie chicken provides enough chicken for one regular, family meal.
2. Bake chicken in the morning while getting ready for the day. Thaw chicken in fridge. Preheat oven at 350. Place foil on a baking sheet, spray it with Pam, place chicken on there and bake for 25 minutes. Remove from the oven, let it cool down a bit, store it in a big Ziploc baggie or food storage container, refrigerate and then when you get home that evening, the chicken is cooked and waiting on you.
3. Slow cooker. You can put the chicken in the slow cooker frozen or thawed. After 6 or 8 hours, the chicken is ready to go and shreds so easily. Plus, this is a great opportunity to flavor my chicken a bit. You can just add the chicken in the slow cooker with 4 cups of water...or you could add in 4 cups of salsa if you're preparing a Mexican meal that night...or some Italian salad dressing if you're making Italian fare. You can add chicken stock for extra flavor or even a can of cream soup.