I am admittedly not a great cook. Am I a bad one? Not necessarily, just someone who doesn’t have the interest or energy to put a lot of time and effort into meals most days.
In the division of labor in our household, my husband cooks most nights but if there’s one day during the work week that I take ownership of making sure something gets on the table, it’s Thursday evenings. To keep it simple the base of this meal is almost shredded chicken. Thursdays are a remote work day for me so I have an alarm on repeat every week at 11am to remind me to put chicken in the crockpot so it’s ready to go when I get off work for the day.
That step is easy! It’s usually about 1.25 pounds of chicken that goes in the crockpot with a little salt, a little pepper, and enough chicken broth to cover it. No sauces or other flavorings since that could change depending on what we decide to make with it that night. Set that crockpot on high and by about 4pm (5 hours later) I have chicken ready to be shredded and flipped to warm.
Here’s some of our go-to ideas then to make with it!
BUFFALO CHICKEN EGG ROLLS
This idea is one of my favorites, although I’ve made it so much my husband is a little tired of it! This recipe from Half Baked Harvest was the one that generated the idea, although lots of days I make it even more simple and just add a dry packet of ranch seasoning, hot sauce, and shredded cheddar to the chicken before wrapping it up in the egg roll wrappers.
FRIED RICE
My husband found this recipe that he uses as a guide for fried rice and we just use chicken instead of shrimp. The key here is to make the rice earlier too so we also put some rice in the rice maker as I get the chicken cooking, then when it’s done we throw it in the fridge until we’re ready to put everything together.
CHICKEN TACOS
I’m talking go the route of buying the Taco Bell seasoning packet and grab some tortillas. Make some white rice to go with it and stir in some lime juice, salt, and chopped cilantro for a Chipotle inspired take. Top the meal off with your favorite chips and salsa and maybe a homemade margarita too?
BBQ CHICKEN
So easy! Add your favorite BBQ sauce to the shredded and drained chicken, grab some Hawaiian roles if you want to turn them into little sliders then add whatever sides you like best. Cornbread, coleslaw, baked beans, or corn on the cob are a few of my personal favorites.
SESAME GINGER CHICKEN
You could easily keep any kind of sesame/teriyaki sauce stocked at home to use, but my current favorite is BIBIBOP’s sesame ginger teriyaki sauce. Adding it to the shredded and drained chicken then adding some rice is a great base, then if I’m feeling like trying to copy my favorite order from the restaurant I could add potatoes, bean sprouts, pineapple, and a scrambled egg.
Life in the Ordinary 