One Rotisserie Chicken

August was in his stroller, looking around with disinterest as we passed rows of boxes and cans.  When his wandering eyes fell on me, I began to dance to the disco music playing over the speakers.  Upon seeing my animated face and my flailing arms, his eyes softened and his lips curled into a grin.  Behind us, Jon-Michael was pushing our cart with one hand.  Evelyn's sleeping form was slung over his shoulder, and his other arm was cradling her as she napped.

Cases of beer were stacked into lofty pyramids that dotted the layout like an Egyptian horizon, a beacon of excess serving as a not-so-subtle reminder that Labor Day was a mere 24 hours away.  Shining carts pushed by scowling customers were full of the things of national secular holidays:  Immodest amounts of meat and alcohol, brightly-colored condiments.  The swarm of people hummed like an angry hive as they buzzed noisily past each other.  I wanted nothing more than to escape - but instead, I danced and I sang as I waited for my husband to pick out a taco kit.

"What are we doing for dinner tonight?" he asked.  We gave each other a look of understanding and headed toward the prepared foods department.  It was already late in the day, and the thought of cooking had hardly even passed my mind.

What can I get that I can share with Evie? I thought to myself as I passed by a salad bar, steaming soups, fried chicken pieces, sushi.  Rotisserie chicken.  Duh.  

That night, I made a simple meal in five minutes.  In the time it took me to steam a potato in the microwave, I had a cucumber peeled and seeded, cut into bite-size pieces and sprinkled with kosher salt and a generous shake of dill and mixed together with a dab of mayonnaise.  A buttery potato, cucumber salad and a rotisserie chicken thigh went over really well and took minimal work.  That's my idea of a Sunday dinner.

For dinner that Monday, I was inspired by the bok choy I had purchased the day before and I made a simple chicken fried rice.  I sauteed the bok choy with salt, pepper, turmeric, garlic powder, olive oil (admittedly not a very "fried rice" flavor) and soy sauce, then I added small pieces of the leftover chicken breast and some brown rice I had prepared earlier that day.  Making a small pit in the middle of the rice mixture, I cracked an egg and whisked it.  When it was nearly set, I stirred it all together so the egg coated some of the rice and vegetable.

Evelyn devoured it.  She didn't wait for small spoonfuls; she grabbed giant handfuls and shoved it into her mouth as quickly as she could manage.  In toddler etiquette, that is a compliment to the chef and it certainly makes me feel good.  Another (nearly) five-minute meal.

When you're in a bind and it's almost dinner time, a $5.00 rotisserie chicken can be worth its weight in gold.  And minutes.

Some other ideas:  Shred it for tacos, burritos or enchiladas; cut it up and add it to chicken broth, vegetables and rice or noodles for a quick, easy chicken soup; cut into strips to add to a green salad.