Post the Forty-eighth (in which our heroine continues her thrifty ways)

So, you made the pot-roasted chicken for dinner last night.  Amazing, wasn't it? And now we're going to make the second dinner from our chicken, and bask in the warm glow of our recessionist ways.  Ok, so it necessitates eating chicken two nights in a row, but for most people I know, this won't be a problem.

So, take your chicken out of the fridge and strip the bird of as much meat as you possibly can.  You'll be amazed how much there is on it.  Don't be afraid of the dark meat; it's the tastiest kind.  Put all the meat onto a large chopping board and go over it with a big knife a couple of times to dice it up a bit, then set aside.  You can chuck the skin out (or give it to your dogs, if you have any), but hang on to the bones and carcass to make stock - stick them into a sandwich bag and bung into the freezer until you have two or three chickens' worth.

Anyway, tonight's dinner is a complete change taste-wise to last night's.  You could also, of course, make the chicken & spinach lasagna from a few weeks back with the leftover chicken.  But do give this dish a try at some stage too, because it's a bit of an oul taste sensation.

Buffalo Chicken Casserole - serves 4

1 onion, diced                              Approx. 500g leftover, cooked chicken, roughly diced
1 red chili, finely diced                  3 cloves garlic, crushed
500ml natural yoghurt                   250ml creme fraiche or sour cream
Bunch coriander, chopped            100ml Frank's Red Hot Sauce
2 large flour tortillas                      100g mature cheddar cheese, grated

1. Heat a little oil in a pan and saute the onion, chili & garlic until softened, but not coloured.  Meanwhile, in a large bowl, mix the yoghurt, sour cream/creme fraiche and Frank's Red Hot Sauce.

2.  Add the chicken, coriander and fried onions to the sauce and mix well. Spread a third of this mixture on the bottom of an ovenproof dish.  Top with one of the tortillas, tearing it to fit the dish if needs be.  Repeat with another third of the chicken, the other tortilla, then finish with the last of the chicken mix.  Top with the grated cheese, then bake in an oven preheated to 200C until golden and bubbling.  Serve with a spinach, lime & coriander salad.

Btw, if you fancy making this and don't happen to have a leftover roast chicken knocking around, just poach two large chicken fillets, chop them and carry on as above.  Or, you could use turkey mince and fry it off with the onions & garlic.

By the way, if you've never had Frank's Red Hot Sauce before, get the hell out to the shop NOW and buy some.  It is, quite frankly (pun 100% intended) the best thing in the whole wide world. Ever.  This is what they use to make the chicken wings in Tribeca and the Elephant and Castle, for those of you who didn't already know that.  Just make sure you get the Original version, not the Wings one.

And if anyone reading has a Musrgaves card and would like to have me indebted to them forever, you can get a 3 litre bottle of Frank's there for €19.  Christmas is a-coming, folks!