I was so excited years ago when my husband bought me a stand mixer for Christmas. Up until then, I had been doing everything by hand. I dreamed of all the bread and rolls I could make in my mixer. Unfortunately for the first couple of years, I didn't use it that often. It turns out even if I had a stand mixer I wouldn't make homemade bread that often.
After a little while, I found so many different uses for my mixer then just making bread. I realized I could make butter, brown sugar, and whipped cream. It's also amazing at making perfectly shredded chicken in minutes. If you like homemade chicken salad or other things that require shredded chicken using the mixer is a dream.
You will want to start with cooked chicken breasts (I use a George Foreman to cook mine) and while they are still warm just toss them into the bowl of the mixer. Using the paddle mixer turn the mixer on a low speed, I do 1-2 on my KitchenAid mixer.
Let the mixer run for about 30 seconds to 1 minute or until chicken is shredded to desired consistency. I am always amazed at how quickly and easily this happens. I was able to shred around 1.5 pounds of chicken breasts in under 1 minute.
You can easily make up a large batch of shredded chicken and freeze part of it. My 1.5 pounds of chicken breasts ended up filling a 32 ounces container once shredded. I will use some of it tonight for lasagna roll-ups and freeze the rest of it. If you freeze it make sure you store it in a freezer safe container and use the shredded chicken in under 2 months. It tends to dry out very quickly.
Skip the fork or your fingers and shred your chicken no time at all with this easy trick. What are your favorite uses for a stand mixer?