Now lets talk about what you can do with the leftovers from your roasted chicken.

Add the garlic and onions to lentils and carrots for a simple lunch or side or add rice and a salad and now its dinner.

This next is a recipe I’ve had in the back of mind for awhile. I first had this dish this past summer at Mozelle’s in North Carolina. They used this salad as a bed for perfectly cooked scallops. I recreated it at home without the seafood to make it vegan – delicious! Its easy and versatile. You can add an protein or leave it out and it still tastes amazing. Here I added onions, garlic, and chicken – all leftovers from our roast chicken.

First dried apricots and the leftover onions and garlic saute in coconut oil.

Then add pistachios, israeli couscous, and chicken.

Mix it all together and . . . tada!

I love Trader Joe’s. In this recipe I used their harvest blend (you could use plain israeli couscous or just couscous or rice) and coconut oil (olive oil can be used in place of the coconut).

Israeli CousCous with Apricots and Pistachios

1 box of Israeli CousCous

3 to 4 tbsp of olive oil or coconut oil

2  shallots, thinly sliced or 1/2 cup onions and garlic from roasted chicken

1/3 cup of dried apricots, quartered

1/4 cup pistachios, crunched in small pieces

1 lemon, zested and juiced

optional: chicken from roasted chicken cut into bit-size pieces

Prepare couscous according to package. Meanwhile heat a medium sized skillet and add 1-2 tbsp oil over medium high heat. Cook shallots (or onions) and apricots and saute until shallots are soft, about 5 minutes. Add pistachios and stir for another minute. Add the apricot/onion mixture to a large bowl with couscous, lemon juice, lemon zest, the remainder of the oil and chicken (if using). Combine and taste for salt and pepper.

This dish tastes great the next day and at room temperature. Its an easy dish to make ahead and reheat.

Enjoy!

Other ideas for the left over chicken meat: Chicken soup and chicken salad. This is my favorite chicken salad. It has curry, cashews, lime, grapes . . . its delish.