Chicken & a *very* picky hubby

saverys_gal

I have a dilemma MFPeeps! I only have TWO ways to cook chicken in my house because my husband is SO very picky...and with the price of beef being higher and with his work schedule being unpredictable, chicken, is cooked at least 3 nights a week. My hubs is to the point where he will beg to pick something up on his way home from work now as opposed to eating chicken. He'll only eat grilled bbq chicken and salsa chicken (chicken breast with cilantro, spices, salsa & cheese). Now the only reason I can get him to eat chicken these two ways is because they have "flavor". To him a nice tasty roasted chicken or baked chicken is boring and doesn't have enough flavor...and I've played around with spices. I've tried doing a lemon pepper chicken. I've tried teriyaki (too sweet). I honestly can't remember how many ways I've tried making it. But I'm in desperate need of some tried and true chicken recipes with "FLAVOR"!! :sad: :sad: :sad:

Editing to say that he also doesn't he many veggies...I can get him to eat squash, onions and bell peppers and spicy peppers and corn on the cob if he's in the mood. Beyond that he considers rice, potatoes and mac n cheese (frozen nonetheless!) to be his veggies!

stormieweather

Chicken Piccata -

Pound boneless, skinless chicken breast until thin
Dredge chicken in bread crumbs (I use wheat germ, and no egg or milk)
Brown in 1 tbsp of olive oil
Add 1/2 cup of chicken boullion, 4 tbsp of white cooking wine, 1 tbsp of margarine/butter, splash of lemon concentrate, 2 tbsp of dried parsley and 2-3 tablespoons of capers (I include brine)
Allow to simmer on low until sauce is mostly evaporated
Serve chicken with capers and sauce spooned over top

I like this with a green salad and pesto pasta.

ickybella

Curry! Yep, I'm obsessed with chicken curry. I think everyone I know already has the recipe and it's got lots of flavor, well, mostly hot, but it's got other flavors too.

stormieweather

Another one is Chicken Parmesan:

Pound boneless, skinless chicken breast until thin
Dredge chicken in bread crumbs (I use wheat germ, and no egg or milk)
Brown in 1 tbsp of olive oil
Place chicken in baking dish
Spoon spagetti sauce over to cover
SPrinkle mozzerella cheese and a bit of parmesan on top
Bake at 350 for 20 minutes or so, until cheese is golden brown.

Serve with side of pasta if you like. I like with salad and veggie (no pasta).

ChubbieTubbie

Our favorites:
-BBQ Chicken: Take shredded chicken, mix it with BBQ sauce and bake for 30-45 minutes to let it soak in. I eat it either in a tortilla with a little cheese as a wrap or just plain, depending on my calorie allotments for the day (a cup of chicken, a bit of bbq sauce--enough just to mix in with the chicken, and 2 slices of bread to make it a sandwich are only 270 calories)
-BBQ slow cooker chicken: Take a few chicken breasts and put them in a slow cooker with a cup of bbq sauce, the flavor will soak into the meat. I'm not sure about the calories, I haven't tried it since I started calorie counting.
--Chicken with mushroom gravy: Bake a whole cut chicken for an hour, then take the chicken out, use the drippings with a can of cream of mushroom soup and a bit of water and make a gravy on the bottom of the pan, then put the chicken back in for another half hour. Serve with rice. Not sure about the calories on that either, I usually eat just the chicken and remove the skin.

I'm a pretty picky eater too.

Mindful_Trent

A favorite in our house is to pan-cook some meat (ground meat is what we usually use, but you could also take chicken and once's it's cooked, pull it off the bone and shred it a bit), then add a bunch of vegetables and let it stir-fry for a bit (usually a little of everything we have - peas, carrots, broccoli, squash, celery, whatever), once they've cooked long enough to get a little soft, we add some low-sodium veggie or chicken broth, and let the whole mixture simmer for a little while. We will add a little thickener at the end (milk, cornstarch, xantham gum - whatever your thickener of choice is), then the finished mixture can be spooned over rice or quinoa. I like to add beans into the rice/quinoa - it goes well with the dish as a whole.

When you use a bunch of different veggies, you don't need many spices because the veggies give GREAT flavoring!

There are TONS of flavorful chicken recipes - hopefully people will give you some great ideas.

saverys_gal

Thanks for the start of some GREAT ideas everyone! I can see maybe trying the chicken parmesan on him as he loves spaghetti!

Curry! Yep, I'm obsessed with chicken curry. I think everyone I know already has the recipe and it's got lots of flavor, well, mostly hot, but it's got other flavors too.

Erm...I've never made curry! Help?!

And I need to amend my original post to also include that my husband HATES veggies...:noway:

Mindful_Trent

And I need to amend my original post to also include that my husband HATES veggies...:noway:

Maybe you can make recipes that are delicious enough that he doesn't mind the veggies. Hopefully if you start eating better and he sees how much better you feel when you eat healthy, he'll jump on the band wagon. I think people who hate veggies just haven't been introduced to veggies that are cooked well. (Or they didn't eat them growing up.) You can slowly incorporate more veggies into your dinners - doesn't have to be a ton all at once! They even made a cookbook about hiding veggies in foods. :laugh:

saverys_gal

I've been eating fairly healthy for over a year and it was battle in my house for the first 6 months over the way I was cooking!! So I gave up on trying to outright convert him and left him to his own devices. He has gotten better on some fronts-like he doesn't go for dessert as much anymore, and when he does, he picks greek yogurt or fruit or a smoothie instead and he's cut out all soda. So I'm proud of him!! But 9 times out of 10 he won't even try most veggies that I bring into the house...I love asparagus and he turns green when I cook it. I made a big pot of lima beans over the weekend and he just sort of eyeballed them but he said he would "maybe" try them.

The only way I can think to incorporate veggies and "hide" them, AND do something new with chicken, is to maybe do a stir fry. Does anyone have a recipe they love for that??

aippolito1

My bf is the same way and here are a few healthy ways I like to cook mine that my bf approves of!

1. Chicken corn casserole - Cut up the chicken and sautee it in a pan of olive oil and season lightly with McCormick's steak seasoning until cooked through and golden brown. Prepare a box of Rice-a-Roni Whole grain blends rice - we like the italian one, as well as I think it's garlic herbs and something. These are lower sodium than the regular Rice-a-Roni rice boxes and are whole grain so better for you. Once this is done, get a glass dish (9x13 or an 8x8, depends on how much you're cooking and what you have - doesn't matter) and spread out the rice and chicken, then combine about half a bag of frozen corn. Add 1/4 cup of shredded mozzarella or other shredded cheese (colby & monterey jack also works nicely with this dish) and stir it all together. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes. Sprinkle a little bit of cheese on top in the last 5 minutes and then serve. It's filling, delicious, and all the flavors work really nicely together. If you don't want to use the box rice, you could use regular rice but you would have to season it very well, otherwise it will be VERY bland. The boxed rice gives it a great flavor.

2. Chicken parmesan the healthy way! - Forget breading, this is the healthy way. Get boneles skinless chicken breasts and thaw them out. Place them on a metal pan (no need to spray but you can if you want, just do it lightly so it doesn't slip around) and pour over spaghetti sauce and top with some shredded cheese. Serve with pasta mixed with sauce, veggies, and bread if you like.

3. Chicken cacciatore - Sautee your chicken the same as #1 and boil some pasta (whole grain or whole wheat, whatever you want) and once both are done, strain pasta and add chicken to pasta. Mix in spaghetti sauce. Season with parsley, basil and italian seasoning. Mix in some shredded cheese, stir-fry vegetables, mushrooms, onions, garlic, whatever you want. Then you're done.

4. Chicken pasta casserole (I'm Italian, pardon all the pasta! lol) - This works best with rotini pasta, so get that all prepared and ready. You can bake your boneless skinless chicken breast in the oven at 350 for 20-30 minutes (if thin and small - if larger or on a bone, this will take closer to an hour) or sautee in the pan same as #1. Once done, cut into small pieces if it's not done already, combine it with the pasta and mix in cheese, chopped green onions and sour cream. Also works well with veggie mac rotini - LOVE that stuff.

And I agree with accountant_boi... if you season them well enough, your hubby may start to like veggies. My bf is a veggie-a-phobe but he eats them because I know how to prepare them. Bake them in olive oil in a dish in the oven at 365 for 20 minutes and they taste great. Season with garlic powder or steak seasoning, lightly.

gambitsgurl

I pound it out and add feta and a slice of ham then roll it up and bake.

gurlysmiles2001

bump

MrsFarrow

OMG Bump to the max!

I feel your pain!! My husband is totally a meat and potatos kind of guy. He won't eat ANY veggies. Maybe corn occasionally, and sometimes carrots if they're like, dredged in something sweet, be it honey or maple syrup. It's so hard to get greens in I crock pot a lot of stuff. I found a recipe for home made chicken n dumplings, something like 300 calories a serving? Bump either way, I could use some extra recipes!

jillbarnes

I'm very picky, I like chicken - no red meat, pork or turkey. Just like your husband, I get bored of cooking chicken the same ways and would sometimes rather get take-out or drive-thru instead of having the same thing over and over again. I also am a terrible vegetable eater! I love mashed potatoes, baked potato soup and corn. I like raw carrots, but cooked they are too sweet to me.

I do love eating cheese fondue from The Melting Pot and I'll devour some carrots and cauliflower with it - not really the healthiest form covered in fondue. I also have a good recipe for zucchini muffins, and you can add nuts and/or chocolate chips. The Sneaky Chef is the name of the book for moms to 'sneak' veggies into regular foods like mac&cheese.

Try a citrus chicken. I'll squeeze one lemon & one lime and pressed garlic over the chicken and let it marinate most the day. (I've also added a squeezed orange to this but wouldn't suggest it since he isn't into the sweet chicken flavors.) You can even add cilantro and some of the spices from the salsa chicken you make. I normally serve with brown rice.

Have you ever tried stuffing a chicken breast? You can add different herbs, butter, cheese, ham or bacon...a combination of items you know he likes already.

carlynishere

looks good

kristydi

I was just looking through a bunch of chicken recipes from Martha Stewart. Here's the link

http://www.marthastewart.com/photogallery/quick-chicken-recipes

One of the main things I do with chicken breasts is grill them with a bit of garlic salt and lemon pepper.

I feel your pain though. My hubby is picky too and it used to drive me nuts. Now, I just go ahead and cook the veggies and put a small serving on his plate. If he doesn't want to eat them, fine. He's an adult, his choice, but he's learned not to complain about them. It's just rude to complain about something that's been cooked for you.

Lately he's been eating a few more veggies as he's trying to lose weight himself.

xitsx0xbrix

The only veggie my b/f likes is corn... However, I have been able to get him to eat stir fry with carrots, mushrooms, onions, green peppers and i think peas. It's a birds eye stir fry veggie combo. When you use all the stir fry sauce etc on the veggies he devours them!

1113cw

Try a citrus chicken. I'll squeeze one lemon & one lime and pressed garlic over the chicken and let it marinate most the day. (I've also added a squeezed orange to this but wouldn't suggest it since he isn't into the sweet chicken flavors.) You can even add cilantro and some of the spices from the salsa chicken you make. I normally serve with brown rice.

Have you ever tried stuffing a chicken breast? You can add different herbs, butter, cheese, ham or bacon...a combination of items you know he likes already.

These are both my main ways of doing chicken.. 1)marinate with citrus, herbs and spices and roast.. then make a quick pan sauce with the drippings and some chicken broth. 2)butterflied and/or rolled and stuffed with whatever veggies and stuff I have in the fridge.. usually steamed spinach, laughing cow or a swipe of goat cheese, and sauteed veggies... roll/stuff... dredge in panko crumbs and roast.

Serve both with veggies... both are so versatile you can customize the ingredients to your/hubby's particular tastes.. savory, tangy, spicy, etc...

ybba12490

I'm sure this probably isn't an option if you and your H have hectic lifestyles, but maybe you can buy his favorite frozen mac n cheese, potatoes, rolls etc and leave them in the freezer for him to make for himself and then you can make the chicken and add your own sides, so both of you will enjoy the chicken and have different side options! everyone wins:drinker:

jennmoore3

My hubby sounds like your hubby's brother. LOL Here's a super easy one!

Take 2 breasts. cook them in a skillet with some seasoning (We love Garlic) and butter just till they are done on the outside and pink on the inside. Toss em in the crock pot with BBQ Sauce. (We use Sweet Baby Rays) Cook on low for about 1-2 hours, OR until you can take 2 forks and pull it apart.

You can either eat it like that or We love to shred it up add more BBQ sauce and seasoning and then put on a bun with cheese.

robinf125

marinate chicken breast with fat free italian dressing overnight. grill or bake the chicken. cut it up fajita style and eat on low calorie tortilla or in pita bread stuffed with the veggies of your choice. great flavor!

luvcookie

Awesome recipes

Nich0le

I soak chicken in buttermilk with about a tsp of rosemary in it over night, sometimes two, gives it nice flavor when grilled or baked.

I also fillet my chicken breasts, in other words cut them in half from top to bottom so the pieces are flatter, more flavor for the entire piece of meat.

marthastewart.com and cookinglight.com have great recipes use the recipe tool and there will be more than you can choose from

Marisela233

And I need to amend my original post to also include that my husband HATES veggies...:noway:

Maybe you can make recipes that are delicious enough that he doesn't mind the veggies. Hopefully if you start eating better and he sees how much better you feel when you eat healthy, he'll jump on the band wagon. I think people who hate veggies just haven't been introduced to veggies that are cooked well. (Or they didn't eat them growing up.) You can slowly incorporate more veggies into your dinners - doesn't have to be a ton all at once! They even made a cookbook about hiding veggies in foods. :laugh:

that would be me thankd goodness i found this post because i like chicken dont eat meat too often and DO NOT eat veggies at all iand i kinda think thats stopping me from losing weight where can i find this book??? or how would you suggest eating the veggies so they taste good i have never eaten any veggies EVER well just lettuce carrots bell pepers cucumbers a little tomato potatoes and I LOVE to use jalapeno peppers on alot of my dishes NOTE: these are what i see as vegetables LOL