I was inspired to make this recipe from a post by Jenn of SLIM SHOPPIN'! Jenn's blog is great fun to read. Anyone with as big an ass as mine, needs to read over her calorie conscious meals and follow more of her advice. Boldly putting it out there to the world her struggles with weight and choices, it is worth your time to get to know Jenn.
A few days ago, Jenn published her take on an ITALIAN CHICKEN PASTA BAKE. Her dish was inspired by Giada from the food Network. Mine was inspired by Jenn, plus the half of the rotisserie chicken i had sitting in my fridge. One of the frustrating aspects of grocery shopping is the siren call of the $5.99 fully cooked chicken, complete with very tasty seasonings and cooked to perfection. The frustrating part is that this bargain is located right next to the raw chickens that price in at $9.99 or more. Much as i would like to roast a chicken, the cheap skate in me can not justify paying more for less.
So, weekly I am buying a rotisserie chicken, and I am going to start a new series on what to do with your bird...
Today, I made a very tasty Mac and Cheese stuffed with Chicken! And of course, I added a bit of Caribbean tastes.... Which I guess means at some point I added rum...
but I am ahead of myself... Here's what I did...
1/2 a rotisserie fully cooked Chicken, diced
2 cups Large shells Pasta (cooked al dente)
1/2 sweet Onion, minced
1 Roma Tomato, diced small
4 cloves Garlic, Minced
2 cups Mozzarella cheese, divided
And to make it Caribbean...
1/4 Cup Pineapple rum
1/2 diced Mango (about 1/2 cup)
1/2 cup fresh diced Pineapple
Precook the shells for only 5 minutes in boiling water. They are just barely done at this stage. The baking process will finish cooking them.
While that is cooking, I start dicing... and dicing... and dicing. the Mango, pineapple and chicken should all be diced to @ the same size. The onion, tomato and garlic need to be diced smaller.
Combine everything except the cheese and shells into a sauté pan and sauté away! Simmer until the the liquid from the rum is reduced. About 15 minutes. Add 1 cup of the cheese to the pan and mix. Combine this mixture into a small casserole dish and top that with the remaining cheese.
And bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes!
Until you get that beautiful toasted cheese look!
And I added just a bit of the Lime Zest salt I have talked about recently...
This made an EXCELLENT lunch! I had enough left over for a second lunch (today), and I also served a smaller serving for a side dish for dinner. I LOVED this. the sweetness of the pineapple and mango, combined with the cheese and chicken so well. It was very pretty and filling!
Keep coming back, soon I will tell you about what I did to these Shrimp that I served with the Caribbean baked Pasta Chicken!...
Yeah, rotisserie chickens.... They have stands everywhere in the summer with lines of people... My only problem with them is the skin.... I only want a taste of that crisp, fatty goodness, and before you know it I have a naked bird.... and a very p.o. husband that he didn't get to it first. So, I'll follow along for ideas to do with the rest of it....
ReplyDeleteFirst of all. I adore Jenn's blog! She is the low-calorie good-food master.
ReplyDeleteSecond of all - what is UP with the cooked chickens being less than the uncooked chickens. there seems to be something so wrong about that.
third of all - this is the most original mac and cheese I think I've ever seen. I'm basically in love with it. Just letting you know.
I LOVE those rotisserie chickens! They work for soooooooooooooo many recipes! I agree with Joanne - Great mac and cheese!
ReplyDeletedizzy birds are a great short cut to any meal calling for ___ cups of cooked chicken and as you have show, open up the creative avenues.
ReplyDeleteMost stores take unsold roasters getting close to expiration date, and throw them in a rotisserie and sell them..good marketing!
ReplyDeletehow funny that the uncooked chickens would be so much more! weird! but it looks like you're making amazing use of them, this looks delish!
ReplyDeleteWow, thanks for the shout out Dave! Your dish looks AWESOME!!
ReplyDeleteMmmm. Looks delicious! I used a rotisserie chicken to make New Mexico Style pizza a while back. It's on my blog under "pizza". Really good!
ReplyDeleteWow, this looks delicious Dave! YUMMY!!! I love the addition of the pineapple rum and mango. Great recipes, will be trying this soon!
ReplyDeleteThis sound good, must try it out one day.
ReplyDeleteWow, kinda like sugarless products cost more than products without sugar. Love this Caribbean twist on the chicken and pasta! Magnifique', cher!
ReplyDeleteOh how amazing! I would love it I am sure - and would definitely have to try it using my fav pasta made from Kamut Khorasan Wheat flour! Yummy, thank you!!
ReplyDeleteWait. What the? I take a couple of weeks off from blogging and stuff. I turn around and you're in the Virgin Islands?! You da man! How do I be like you?
ReplyDeleteDave, Dave, Dave, you are such a tease....this looks wicked.
ReplyDelete