May 21, 2010

what do do with a roast chicken

admit it.  how many of you have gone to google today and played pac-man?  hope you have because it brought out the kid in me, standing in front of the machines and putting my whole body into it.  it's fun.  of course i was much better at centipede. 

see these beautiful fiesta prep bowls?  (forgive the light - it was late and the ups guy just delivered them) i won them on a giveaway at trust your style. i adore them!!  can't wait to use them either - the bright color just makes me smile.

i realized this week why i don't make homemade empanadas more often.  they are completely yummy but so time consuming.  next time i think i will make it into a production line with friends or family.  the worst part was cutting out the crust rounds.  i took a short cut and used a store-bought roasted chicken and it made the filling sooooo easy.  but, you could plan ahead and roast a chicken to have on hand.  the recipe was simple and i think very changeable.  one roasted chicken, shredded and i diced it a bit too (three cups).  a couple of cups of shredded sharp cheese, four ounces of cream cheese (softened), a cup of diced red bell pepper, a tablespoon of cumin and salt and pepper to taste.  the recipe also calls for a jalapeno seeded and diced but i couldn't find the one i bought.  so, i drained a can of green chilies as well as i could, tossed those in and then added some chili powder.  i also added some sliced green olives because we love them - but if you're a black olive fan, you could go for that too.  i think the basic recipe allows for some experiements - like ground beef, drained well instead of chicken, maybe even mashed pintos or black beans (slightly mashed?)  i could also see some green onions or finely diced sweet onions (maybe sautee them a bit before adding).  i used pillsbury crust but one of my friends says she uses biscuit rounds. 

hope you're having a great week.  more thoughts later.

23 comments:

  1. i love empanadas... and the filling is so versatile! just depends what country you want to be "touring" the day you make them! :)

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  2. They do sound so easy when you put it like that!
    I think I may JUST have to whip some up this weekend!
    thanks Char!
    Now I have days and days worth to catch up on on your blog!!!
    Have a great weekend.
    Char.x.

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  3. LOL....i always use roast chickens from the store....nobody knows....well nobody cares in my house....so why not ?

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  4. I'm trying to eat vegetarian the past week or so. Trying once again to lose some of this weight I gained while wearing the horrid steel boot last year!
    Brenda

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  5. Empanadas? Mmmmmmmm :)!! Yum! Never made them, but yum!

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  6. i never payed pacman ...but my 17 year old thought it was so COOL! Now those bowls on the other hand......

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  7. i love the smell of a chicken roasting in the oven. never played pc man. dont even know what that is!

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  8. I'm NOT hitting the google link! no, no, no...I can't hit it. :-)

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  9. Wow, that sounds delicious, and I love your bowls!

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  10. Oh, I'm giddy to find out about PacMan! YES!!

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  11. Love the fiesta bowls - congratulations! And I actually love the blueberries against the yellow. :)

    I hope you're having a beautiful weekend, Char.

    xoxo,
    -maria

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  12. Oh my goodness, you always make me hungry! I love the bowls...beautiful mustard yellow ;)

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  13. Love those yellow ware bowls! And the few blueberries added just the right amount of extra color.

    I've never tried empanadas before. They sound delicious.

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  14. I love empanadas too! they're so yummy. we usually fill it with veggies and chopped boiled eggs and chicken meat. we even tried mashed sweet potato and margarine fillings.

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  15. EMPANADAS. oh, you are killing me! that sounds divine! i bet they are kind of a pain to make -- sort of like tamales. but the assembly line approach with a gaggle of girls in the kitchen might make the process rather fun!

    hope you have had a fab weekend!

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  16. i buy mine from walmart or sams. yummy.

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  17. Soooo excited to see you received the bowls--and they look beautiful in your photo! I love empanadas but always thought they'd be too hard to make at home--thanks for the inspiration, I'm going to try this out this week!
    xoxo Mary Jo

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  18. Congratulations on scoring those beautiful Fiestaware bowls...in just the right color for photographs too:)

    The only time I ever had homemade empanadas they were made by the wife of a foreign exchange student from Colombia...in 1971...the dough was made from cornmeal and the fillings were beef and they were soo good that I haven't forgotten them in almost 40 years:)...But they were a LOT of work and I never thought of trying them myself to tell you the truth...yours sound yummy!

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  19. Yellow Fiesta bowls are my FAVORITE! I would love to collect them and use them in a kitchen that was painted with black chalkboard paint all around.

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  20. nice win for you. i love fiesta ware and i love yellow. love your bowls and the addition of blueberries in the photo is perfect.

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  21. those bowls are the loveliest golden yellow color! hmm, i wonder if smeg makes refrigerators in that color?

    and the empanadas sound divine.

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  22. these bowls are sheer love~ and yum yum!
    xo

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i feel as if each comment was between us as we sat and sipped something warm....i love to hear what you're thinking.