Leftover Redo: Chicken Sloppy Joes

How do you feel about leftovers?  

Some people love them and some people don't care much about them.  I'm kind of in the 2nd category.  There are only some dishes that I like in their "original form" as leftovers, such as spaghetti or pasta dishes, Chinese food, and pizza, oh...and fried chicken.  The rest seem to lose some of their original texture to me. 

Such as a great chicken picatta.  You won't catch me eating it the next day (nope!) because the chicken always seems to get tougher the next day after being cold.  I don't know, maybe it's me...but that's my quirks on leftovers.  The good thing is that MGG will eat anything, leftover or not! Ha!

There are some items that are excellent for leftovers as "single ingredients", such as rice, beans, roasted vegetables, seasoned and cooked ground beef, chicken, or turkey.  And yes, chicken that has been roasted or poached and then shredded or cubed for different uses.   So while I won't eat a chicken pounded and cooked with a pan sauce in it's original form twice I will eat roasted or poached chicken and turn it into a completely different dish! (Weird huh?)

I love, love, love shredded chicken.  Did you know they sell just shredded chicken in the stores now?  Love that in a pinch, but I usually cook extra chicken just for leftovers, or what I consider "different meals" during the week.

Using my leftover shredded chicken today I made some wonderful sandwiches for our lunch. Using pantry items and wanting something comforting and hot I turned this shredded leftover chicken into the best Chicken Sloppy Joes.  Oh man! These were so good.  Of course sloppy joes are usually made with ground beef...but they are just awesome with any type of meat!  See for yourself!  Don't you want to just dig right in?

Saucy, spicy, and simply delicious!

These are simple to put together with pantry items.  I used my Old School Sloppy Joes sauce recipe and substituted the beef for my leftover chicken.  (Winner!) As long as your have fresh buns or sandwich rolls you are set.  You can even use a rotisserie chicken to make these on the fly if you don't have leftovers.  These are definitely something the kids and the whole family will love.

Enjoy!



Chicken Sloppy Joes

serves 4

1 tablespoon canola oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 1/2 cups cooked shredded chicken
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp kosher salt

1/2 tsp ground black pepper
3/4 - 1 can (13-15 ounces) tomato sauce
1 1/2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
4 hamburger buns or soft kaiser rolls, split (toasted optional)

In a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add onion and cook until soft about 5 to 7 minutes. Add chicken to skillet and heat through about 3-4 minutes.  Add garlic and stir 30 seconds.  Add salt and pepper and stir to combine.

Stir 3/4 can of tomato sauce and Worcestershire sauce into beef mixture in skillet. Taste for flavoring. Add more tomato sauce or Worcestershire sauce to adjust flavor to your liking. Simmer until thickened, stirring occasionally, 3-4 minutes.

Spoon onto toasted buns, and serve.