Use up Every Bit of that Roasted Chicken!

Sweet Potato Dumpling and Chicken Casserole

(Adapted from a Whole Foods turkey recipe)

1 small yellow onion, chopped

8 oz frozen mixed veggies (I use ½ a bag of an organic carrot, corn, pea, and green bean mix)

2 cups of chicken broth

2-3 cups shredded leftover roasted chicken

1 sweet potato (about ¾ lb), cooked and mashed

1½ cups buttermilk

1½ cups of flour (divided into 1¼ c & ¼ c)

2 tsp baking soda

Olive oil, about 1 Tablespoon

Salt and pepper to taste

 Preheat oven to 400°F.  While oven is preheating, heat about 1 Tablespoon of olive oil in a large skillet.  Add onions, salt, and pepper.  Cook on medium-high heat stirring occasionally until onions are soft (about 6-7 minutes).  Add half a bag of frozen mixed veggies and cook until soft and hot throughout.  Lower heat and sprinkle ¼ cup flour over your veggies stirring to coat them all well.  Pour in chicken broth, raise heat and whisk.  Once the mixture begins to boil, reduce heat and simmer, whisking continuously until thickened (about 3 more minutes).

Turn heat off.  Add shredded roasted chicken and mix well.  Transfer to a 8x11 (or so) baking dish and set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, combine 1 ¼ cups flour, baking soda, ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper with a fork.  Add mashed sweet potato and buttermilk and gently combine to make a thick batter.  Pour batter over chicken and veggie mixture in baking dish and spread about evenly.  Bake until top is golden brown and cooked through (test with a toothpick), about 30 minutes.

Serves 4-6.

Background:

Roasted chicken is a frequent weeknight meal at our house.  Buying a locally pastured chicken whole, is just so much more affordable than buying it already cut up!  When I buy a bird from a local farmer, it is always frozen solid.  So, I defrost it in the sink all day, and by 4pm it is usually ready to dress.  Roasted chicken with whatever roast-worthy veggies I have about makes a great one dish meal- but, even when guests come to share this meal, I always find plenty of meat left on the carcass.  The frugal homemaker in me hates to see that meat go to waste, even if it is mostly the more unpopular meats like back and wing…  So, I get my fingers dirty and pick the carcass clean!  I can usually fill at least most of one quart sized zip-lock baggie with leftover chicken meat (not skin).  I find that this is plenty for the above recipe, and I love that I can get two hearty dinners out of just one average sized roaster!

Sweet Potatoes are dominating my local farmers’ market these days, making the above dish especially seasonal and tasty this week!

Additional Notes:


Buttermilk purchased at the store usually comes in a quart.  Wondering what to do with the rest?  Buttermilk based muffins of course!  My children eat muffins for breakfast on most school mornings because of the ease and speed of them.  I use a buttermilk base and change up the mixings.  More on that another day…

Don’t waste any leftover roasted veggies!  I usually have a few spoonfuls of roasted veggies left over from my chicken roast dinners.  I save those for weekend omelets- or egg scrambles, as more often the case. J

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