Costco Chicken Round 3

We’re are back with “how many ways to use a Costco rotisserie chicken and getting the most out of your $5!

First up was a pasta bake, that I actually put together the night before I bought the chicken LOL. I knew that I was going to buy one and it would be the perfect pairing – and it was!! I preheated the oven to 375. I greased a glass baking dish. Then added a box of cavatappi pasta, a jar of pesto sauce (from Costco), 2 cups of chicken broth, 1 cup of milk, salt, pepper, and shredded parmesan. I covered tightly with foil and then baked for about 40-45 minutes. I then took out the dish, stirred the pasta, topped with some mozzarella cheese and then baked for another 10 minutes or until golden. I served this with some of the rotisserie chicken breast and leg meat. It was a great meal prep meal option and having the chicken on the side was so nice to soak up some of the extra pesto sauce. Pesto was a great way to mix up the pasta bakes I normally make as well!

After pulling chicken for the pesto pasta, I decided to remove the remaining chicken from all the bones. I had 1 breast, dark meat from the leg and thighs and some meat from the wings as well as all the chicken skin left. I don’t like wasting and want to try and use all that I can! Next recipe was to use the remaining white meat – I decided to make chicken salad. I chopped up the chicken, red onions and celery. I seasoned with salt, black pepper, white pepper and parsley. I then added a big dollop of mayo and combined. Gave it a taste, added some more pepper and mayo and then mixed all together. This was another great meal prep option for lunch. It was great with salad. I also added it to a wheat wrap with some shredded mozzarella and then grilled it in the pan. It was a delicious warm lunch!

The last recipe as I am sure you guessed, is a soup. I love using the bones to create a great chicken broth base and this time around, I decided to do a lighter soup for the summer. I started by sautéing some chopped onions, garlic and celery in the bottom of my pot. After a few minutes, I removed them, added the bones and water until it covered the majority of the bones. I added salt, pepper and chicken bouillon cube. I let the pot simmer low and slow for about an hour. I then removed all the bones, added back any meat still left on the bones as well as the remaining dark meat I had not used. I then added back the onions and celery as well as some chopped carrots. I tasted the soup, seasoned with a bit more salt and pepper. Lastly, I added some chopped zucchini as I didn’t want it to get too soft. I finished with some fresh squeezed lemon and lemon zest and then topped with grated parmesan cheese. The final touch, was frying up the chicken skin as the crispy topping for the soup! Another great recipe that was prepped for both lunch or dinner for the week. It was perfectly light for the summer as well!

Stay tune for more Costco chicken recipes coming your way!

Live to Eat,
Tiv