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Summer Dinner Made Easy

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You know how they say if you can't take the heat, get out of the kitchen? I take that motto very seriously! When it's hot, I am in no mood to slave in a hot kitchen. Since we are now in the dog days of summer, I thought I'd share one of my favorite summer dinner recipes. It's a fast way to “fake" a pulled pork sandwich using rotisserie chicken and baked potatoes...and without using your stove!

Pat's Cheap & Cheerful Chicken

1/2 cup barbecue sauce

1/2 cup course ground mustard

1 Tbsp plus 2 tsp apple cider vinegar, divided

3 cups shredded rotisserie chicken

1/4 cup Miracle Whip dressing

3 cups coleslaw blend

3 large baked potatoes (approximately 1.5 lbs)

It's waaay too hot to turn on your oven…so do yourself a favor and begin with a cooked rotisserie chicken purchased at the store. I find rotisserie chicken to be the best, easiest answer to dinner when it is simply too hot to cook.

Heat the potatoes in the microwave until done. This is my favorite way to make baked potatoes…no muss, no fuss!

While the potatoes are cooking, shred the cooked rotisserie chicken with two forks, pulling the meat lengthwise in opposite directions so it separates into long shreds.

Combine the barbecue sauce, mustard, and 1 Tbsp of vinegar in a bowl. Mix it with the shredded chicken until the chicken is well coated. (If you are feeding less adventurous eaters or want to subtract a step, you can skip the mustard and vinegar and just coat the chicken with regular, store-bought barbecue sauce.)

Mix Miracle Whip and 2 tsp of vinegar until blended...toss with the coleslaw blend in a bowl.

Split your baked potatoes into halves. Add a layer of chicken on top of your potato halves and add the coleslaw on top of the chicken…and you are done! It's so easy…consider serving with sweet Jersey corn and you have a good summertime dinner complete!