Raise your hand...

If you are nervous and/or weirded out about cooking a whole chicken. If you were here in my living room, you'd see my hand raised and waving with great enthusiasm. I've cooked a lot of chicken parts, but I've only finagled a whole chicken (from its uncooked state) one time. I guess I've just never taken the time to figure out what needs to be pulled out, dissected and so forth. Also, I really just don't care and feel that I've found an easier (and maybe even tastier solution).

Next time you're in the mood some for home-cooked chicken goodness, but don't have the time (or the desire, like myself) to mess with a whole chicken stop at your local grocer and pick up a rotisserie chicken. Rotisserie chickens are delicious and inexpensive! I can pick one up for $6 or less. It feeds the whole family and we usually always have leftovers. For $6, the rotisserie bird well out weighs the price of buying one of his raw counterparts and taking the time to do whatever it is you have to do to make things right.

If you're in a real hurry, you can even usually pick up some tasty side items from your grocer's deli - mac & cheese, potato salad, pasta salad are usually all there and available. Don't forget to pick up a pound of tapioca for desert as well. :) If you just want to pick up the chicken and make a side at home, try baked my baked garlic mac & cheese recipe (below) always a crowd pleaser. :) I've also included a recipe for the chicken leftovers (below). Enjoy your dinner!!

Baked Garlic Mac & Cheese

Ingredients

• 2 cups of shredded cheddar
• Handful of crumbled feta cheese
  
• 2.5 tablespoons of melted butter
• 1 tablespoon (or so) of minced garlic
• 8oz of large elbow noodles
• 1 teaspoon of salt
• Few twists of pepper from your pepper mill (to taste)
• Milk

Directions

• Preheat your oven to 350
• Boil the noodles (about 6min), drain
• Pour noodles into a 2-2.5qt baking dish
• Add garlic, salt, pepper, melted butter and half the cheddar - gently stir to combine all
  
• Once combined, top the mixture with feta cheese and the remaining cheddar.
• Pour milk into one corner of the pan and fill until you see the milk around the edges of the mac & cheese mixture (about 2-3 cups).
  
• Bake in preheated oven for one hour. If you notice the cheese browning too much, cover with foil.

Chicken Potpie ((easy!!))

Ingredients:

• Left-over cooked chicken
  
• Shredded cheddar (1/2 cup or so)
• 1 can of cream of (whatever) - cream of chicken works well.
• Mixed veggies (I prefer the large mixed veggies - Normandy Blend) You can buy a giant bag at Sam's Club that will last you for quite a while.
  
• 1 can of crescent rolls
• Onion salt and pepper to taste
  

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350
  
• Steam veggies until they are tender (an easy way to steam veggies: fill a large 4 cup measuring cup with veggies; add water up to the 2 cup mark then microwave for 5 minutes)
• On the stovetop, heat soup and cheese until you get a nice creamy cheese sauce
• Mix the veggies, chicken, soup, onion salt and pepper into a pie plate
  
• Bake in your preheated oven for 30 minutes
• While the veggie/chicken mixture is cooking, open your cresent rolls.
• Roll the entire can of rolls into a ball, then roll out into a circle large enough to cover the pie plate.
  
• Once the veggie/chicken mixture is done, cover the mixture with your rolled out dough.
  
• Bake for another 10-15 minutes or until the top is golden brown.
  

Enjoy :)