Shredded BBQ Chicken Sandwiches (Leftover Weeknight Meal)

So I'm sure we all have "leftover night" one day a week or so.  On Sunday we came home from grandmas with a rotisserie chicken, a tray full of Spanish rice, and I had some corn and grilled chicken left over from a previous BBQ of my own.  Some people say they are bad when it comes to opening the fridge, seeing what's there and making a meal- for me this is a welcomed challenge.  This one was not as difficult because of the similar flavor profiles of these separate dishes.

Any leftover chicken is an awesome thing to have, it can become so many things.  The rice was obviously a side and so was the grilled corn on its own. Starch, veggie, done.

I had three leftover kaiser rolls (but tortillas or really any hearty bread would have worked here too), chicken and a pantry/fridge door.  Hand shred the left over chicken, obviously removing the skin and bones.  Set that aside while you make your sauce.  Everything else gets microwaved to just reheat!

I have to say I don't have a set BBQ sauce recipe, it changes I think every time I make it, but this was the one I made last night.  I used an immersion blender to make the sauce thicker, quicker, and to make it smooth- but if you don't have one you can always carefully transfer to a regular blender, food processor or just leave chunky and simmer longer to thicken.

Ingredients

• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 jalapeno, minced
• 1 roasted red pepper, chopped
• 1 lime, juiced
• 1 1/2 cup of chicken stock
• 1 (8oz) can of tomato sauce
• 2 tbsp of brown sugar
• 2 tbsp of worchestire sauce
• 3 tbsp of apple cider vinegar
• 1 tbsp of salt
• freshly cracked pepper
• about 2-3 cups of shredded cooked chicken (or pork!)

Directions

1. In a sauce pot add about a tbsp of oil and then saute the onion, garlic, and jalapeno until softened.  About 5-7 minutes- careful not to burn it.  Then add the roasted red pepper.
2. Then add the lime juice, chicken stock and tomato sauce.  Try to scrape any bits off the bottom of the pan- if there are any.
3. Add the sugar, vinegar, worchestire sauce, salt and pepper.
4. Bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer.
5. This would be the time to blend.  After blending keep at a simmer until sauce like consistency then add in your chicken and heat through.
6. If not blending, keep at a low boil until thickened to your liking (ALWAYS taste the sauce before adding the meat or serving) and then add the chicken.
7. Pile the chicken on toasted buns with pickled jalapenos, tomatoes and lettuce.

There are so many other ways to make this- other usual ingredients are ketchup, tomato paste, mustard, cumin, paprika, beer, chipolte etc.  If you want you can add a squirt of ketchup or tomato paste to heighten the tomato flavor more.  Taste the sauce before adding the chicken and adjust to your preference.

Now if you don't have already cooked chicken, don't worry- just poach your chicken first then use the poaching liquid as your chicken stock. Add chicken to pot, cover with water until almost fully submerged.  Bring to a boil then immediately reduce to a low simmer.  Cook until done.  Remove chicken and the water it cooked in is now essentially chicken broth- use for your sauce!

Spicy Southwest Deviled Eggs

So here is what you do with all those left over Easter eggs (or you can throw them into salads which is one of my favs too).  I've tried a lot of different versions of deviled eggs and haven't had a bad egg yet (haha).  Deviled eggs are awesome because as long as you make the perfect hard boiled egg- you can do whatever you want with the rest!

Perfect Hard Boiled Eggs:

Take cold eggs and cover with cold water in a pot.  Cover the pot and bring up to a boil. As soon as it comes to a boil, shut off the heat and let sit covered for 10 mins. Then carefully remove the eggs and let sit in cold water until cool enough to handle, then either refrigerate or peel and eat!

Perfect eggs every time, with no gross grey lining in the yolk!

This recipe I went for a lighter version, but used big flavors so you wouldn't notice the lack of yolks or mayo traditionally used.  This recipe can be doubled for a larger crowd, but this worked very well for 10 people.

Ingredients

• 8 hard boiled eggs, sliced in half long ways and yolks removed and reserved
• 10 yolks (which is really 10 halves of yolks), or 5 whole yolks
• 2 tbsp of low fat mayo
• 1 tsp of prepared horseradish
• 1 tbsp of mustard (whatever you have, yellow, dijon, whole grain etc)
• 2 tbsp of roasted red pepper, chopped fine
• 2 tbsp of pickled jalapenos, chopped fine
• 1/4 cup of non fat plain yogurt
• 1 big pinch of salt (can adjust to your taste later)
• fresh cracked pepper
• a pinch (about 1/2 tsp) of garlic powder
• ground chipolte powder- sprinkle a pinch on each egg for garnish
• I also garnished with slices of jalapenos, roasted red pepper and parsley leaves (cilantro would have been nice here too)

Directions

1. After you make the hard boiled eggs and split them in half length wise, remove the yolks and set aside.
2. Add 10 yolk halves to a bowl with the rest of the ingredients, except the garnish pieces and chipolte powder.

3. Combine until smooth. Taste and see if it needs more salt- adjust to your liking.
4. Put yolk mixture in a small ziplock bag and cut off the tip to make a piping bag.  Pipe the mixture back into the hollowed out egg whites. 
5. Sprinkle a small pinch of chipolte powder in each egg and garnish to your liking.
6. Refrigerate up to a day or serve right away.