So yesterday I bought some boneless chicken breasts thinking Chicken Piccata for Sunday dinner, which is a regular on the solost family meal rotation but I just ain’t feelin it today. Feeling like something either new, or I haven’t made in awhile.
Gumbo is a possibility but I make that a lot too. Also I like to at least have a pork product in addition to chicken, and I don’t think we have anything (well, maybe some bacon; that would do).
Save the stock and do a tomato-based chicken pasta, like Chicken Diavolo? That too is a family pleaser but it’s easy enough to throw together I like to save it for a weekday meal.
Chicken stir-fry? I made a beef stir-fry last night.
A chicken curry is always nice, but I make those a lot too, and probably less than a week ago.
Any fresh ideas for me? Got a bit of a meal rotation burnout happening here. In addition to chicken breasts and homemade stock, I have red and green bell peppers, onions, carrots, jalapeños, ginger, garlic, lemons, limes, celery. I have Parmesan and shredded sharp cheddar. Canned tomatoes diced, stewed and crushed. For starches I have Yukon potatoes, basmati rice, assorted dry pastas, even a loaf of crusty Italian bread.
I was sort of thinking maybe a slightly healthier chicken Alfredo, using roux-thickened chicken stock in place of cream, which I do not have.
You’ve eliminated most of my ideas. How about chicken kahari/kadai or is that too much in both the stir fry and curry camps? My go-to chicken dish is that halal chicken cart chicken, which is basically just Middle Eastern spiced chicken. Grilled chicken tacos are always good, too. Oh, chicken schnitzel would be a favorite around my house (if I routinely made it—I usually do pork, but chicken is almost as good.
And that reminds me, nobody says no to chicken and dumplings. I make them with thigh, but you can do so with breast, just don’t cook the meat as long.
Thanks pulykamell! I always appreciate and enjoy your recipe ideas. The Karahi chicken idea sounds really good. Yes, a little too close to a curry for now maybe, but next time I feel like a chicken curry I think I will definitely try Karahi. Here’s a recipe I found for Karahi that sounds good, with bonus advice for mixing in yogurt without it curdling (that’s often happened to me- still tastes fine, but not the most appetizing in appearance).
Schnitzel? Maybe. But I’m leaning towards something I can use chicken stock with. Likewise chicken tacos; I don’t have taco wraps anyway. Maybe a chicken with mole sauce, hmmm…? I’d have to fake it because I don’t have all the proper Mexican chiles on hand.
Oh yeah, chicken and dumplings. I have to confess I have never made a dumpling in my life. It’s like a stew with dumplings being little dough balls, right? To google for recipes, away….
I’m leaning towards something similar I mentioned in the op, a sort of chicken Alfredo sauce without the cream— many cloves of minced or crushed garlic, stock thickened up with roux, lots of Parmesan, maybe some thin-sliced red pepper for color and vitamins…
I’m making a cheapo chicken tandoori (Penzy’s Tandoori spice, although making your own isn’t all that hard) using some plain yogurt I had, the spice mix, salt and lemon juice. It’s marinating and I’ll just broil it later. You could easily make something similar, serving with roasted veggies and basmati…
I’d probably save up a bit of stock if you’re expecting cold weather this week the way I am. A really basic miso soup (white miso paste, stock, freeze dried scallions since I’m out of fresh) is a wonderful side dish with nearly anything.
Not a bad thought! I have plain yogurt and I’m sure I have all or most of the spices I’d need. I’d have to jump on this fast to give it marinade time, though. A couple hours should be enough, right?
I also checked out a few chicken & dumpling recipes, and that’s sounding pretty darn good…
No fear of running out; I have several quart-sized batches of homemade stock in the freezer. I’m all stocked up, you might say…
I generally want 4-6 hours for the best flavor with thighs, but with breasts, I’d say you have plenty of time!
I too make tons of stock, but realized recently that the post-thanksgiving turkey stock bonanza has been largely drained, leaving me only 8 1.25 cup ‘singleton’ frozen stock pucks in my freezer. So I need to make more out of the bone bag in the freezer.
I’m definitely liking the tandoori idea but I’m feeling a little lazy right now to get the marinade going, so I think this will have to wait until another day. Maybe later this week- I bought a big “family size” pack of chicken breasts so I will have more.
Plus, it’s a blah cold winter Sunday so I’m feeling something stewy or saucy. I think it’s down to a choice between chicken & dumplings or faux Alfredo, unless a late idea convinces me otherwise…
The 18F highs and sub zero lows roll in on Tuesday, so I’m just glad the thread reminded me to restock the stock as it were. If I make it tomorrow during the holiday, I’ll have a fresh batch to make matzoh ball soup for Tuesday…
We’re the opposite here in SE Michigan- bitterly cold yesterday, high winds and barely got to18F if that. Now a steady warmup that will see a balmy 50F by Wednesday!
Then a drop off a cliff again to temps struggling to get to 20F by next weekend. That’s Michigan for ya- tease you with a bit of spring, then drop the hammer down again
Yep. Pretty easy. Or you can use canned Pillsbury’s.
This recipe from Donald Link’s real Cajun for Chicken sauce piquant always gets good reviews. (I was reminded because someone literally just texted me that they made this recipe yet again.) Once again, I typically do this with thigh, but you can do with breast:
I was watching something on PBS a couple months ago, I think America’s Test Kitchen, where they made chicken sauce piquant, so I tried making it, and it turned out fantastic! The whole family enjoyed it. I don’t think I will do that tonight, but thanks for reminding me that I need to keep that in the rotation.
I definitely think it’s down to chicken & dumplings or faux Alfredo at this point. We eat fairly early on Sunday, so go time is coming up soon….
Chop your celery, carrots, and onions into large chunks. Heat chicken stock to nearly boiling. Add chicken breasts. Cook through.
Add celery, carrots and onions. Maybe canned diced or stewed tomatoes too. Cook until done.
Somewhere in there you’ll want to add some sort of starch- rice, potatoes and pasta all work, but you add them at different times so that they don’t totally overcook and turn to mush. I’m personally partial to rice and pasta, but my wife loves potatoes.
Season to taste with salt, pepper, thyme and if you’ve got it, a bit of fish sauce or anchovy paste for umami. Or if you want, just use straight MSG.
So I ended up just making the fake Alfredo. I almost made chicken & dumplings, but I was feeling too low energy and uninspired yesterday to try anything new, even if it’s not terribly difficult. I knew exactly how I could throw the fake Alfredo together at the last minute.
I flattened and pan-seared chicken breasts. I removed the chicken and cut it into strips. I scraped up the brown bits with a little white wine and made a nice fond. Then I made a roux and added the stock, which I had reduced by about half. Added chicken back into the thickened sauce. Sliced red bell pepper and lots of crushed garlic. Fresh ground black pepper and dried thyme. Lots of grated Parmesan. Served over spaghetti noodles. Sounds like a lot of work typing it out, but it’s a type of meal I’m so used to making I could do it with my eyes closed.
I really appreciate all of the great suggestions I got and i guarantee I will make many of these in the future! Especially:
Chicken & dumplings
Karahi chicken
Schnitzel, chicken or other animal
Tandoori chicken
Chicken sauce piquant
@pulykamell, I’m thinking chicken & dumplings would be good to make using your chicken stock suggestion from my chicken stock thread-- make stock from a whole chicken, then shred the chicken and add it back to the stock with the veggies and dumplings. Supposed to be very cold again next weekend; should be a good one for C&D.
