A week of chicken dinners

pland54 · February 2013

You probably don't want to actually eat chicken every night, but the idea is to give a variety of ways to make plain ol' chicken. I use allrecipes.com for most of our meals because there are endless recipes, lots of peer reviews, you can search by ingredient, the nutritional info is already calculated, and it's free.

So here are 7 of my favorite ways to make chicken- a theoretical week of chicken dinners:

Sunday- the special chicken dinner that takes the most time: A whole baked chicken that tastes like rotisserie
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/roast-sticky-chicken-rotisserie-style/detail.aspx?event8=1&prop24=SR_Title&e11=sticky chicken&e8=Quick Search&event10=1&e13=A:Search Results-List(control)&e7=Home Page
Notes: It still tastes great if you don't have time to marinate overnight. Also, this might seem obvious but the cooking time is much less if you cook one chicken instead of the two in the recipe. You can also bake at 180C for 1.5 - 2 hours instead if you don't have this much time to cook. One more thing- I usually just make a big jar of this seasoning, and I rub it on chicken in other recipes. Saves time and it's delicious!

Monday- A light, healthy dinner: Penne with chicken and asparagus
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/penne-with-chicken-and-asparagus/detail.aspx
Notes- If you make the chicken and veggies in the same pot after you drain the pasta, you save yourself a dish to clean. This dish is good with extra veggies added; I like to add mushrooms.

Tuesday- texmex tuesday: Slow cooker chicken tortilla soup
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/slow-cooker-chicken-tortilla-soup/detail.aspx
Notes- this soup tastes great but is a bit thin. If you want to make it heartier you can add 1 cup of cooked basmati rice (don't put it in with the slow cooker- add it at the end). This soup freezes very well.

Wednesday- marinate this the night before for a 30 minute weeknight dinner: Rosemary ranch chicken kabobs
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/rosemary-ranch-chicken-kabobs/detail.aspx
Notes: It still tastes great and is healthier if you use powdered ranch instead of the actual dressing, and the sugar is totally unnecessary.

Thursday- One pot dinner: Lemon cream pasta with chicken
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/lemon-cream-pasta-with-chicken/detail.aspx
Notes: I change this recipe a bit when I make it. I dice the chicken and cook it in a pot on the stove, remove it to a plate, and make the pasta in the same pot. Whole wheat pasta works well. This recipe is REALLY lemony, so if you don't like lemon it still tastes great without it. This recipe is really versatile....I have added mushrooms, bell peppers, spinach, all with success.

Friday- the gourmet chicken: chicken cordon bleu
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/chicken-cordon-bleu-ii/detail.aspx?event8=1&prop24=SR_Title&e8=Quick Search&event10=1&e13=A:Search Results-List(control)
Notes: I leave out the flour for nutritional reasons. This is one of the more fattening recipes, but it is low in carbs, and if you serve it with veggies I think it's a very well-rounded meal.

Saturday- one more comforting soup: Creamy chicken and wild rice soup
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/creamy-chicken-and-wild-rice-soup/detail.aspx?event8=1&prop24=SR_Title&e8=Quick Search&event10=1&e13=A:Search Results-List(control)
Notes: This is a great opportunity to use up any leftover chicken from other meals

The nutritional information for all of these recipes can be found beneath the reviews.

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