The Endless Variety Of One Dish Chicken Recipes

By Earlene McGee


Feeding the family has never been more challenging. Not only is it getting harder to stay within the budget, everyone seems to have different dietary needs. One has gone paleo, while another one has discovered a gluten sensitivity and Dad has decided to go on Atkins. You could buy individual pre-packaged meals, but this is expensive. Save money and keep everyone happy, apart from maybe the vegetarians and vegans, with one dish chicken recipes.

Chicken is readily available and easily affordable. Even some vegetarians are willing to stretch their principles for the occasional meal. There are few meats that are as versatile as poultry, too. You can buy it as a complete bird, cut into parts or fileted and either sliced into strips or cut into cubes.

Poultry parts consist of wings, drumsticks, thighs, and breasts. They may be sold with or without the skin, or with or without bones. The bones give you something to boil for soup and stock, but they also make the meat difficult to handle. Boneless meat is slightly more expensive, but a lot easier to deal with.

A word of caution. Do not rinse it in water before cooking. Food hygiene experts say this only increases the possibility of contaminating your kitchen with Campylobacter, a bacterium that causes severe food poisoning. It does this by being splashed around in the water used to clean it. You may think you are protecting your family, but the diseases Campylobacter can cause can be deadly to small children and older adults.

Roasting a whole bird is the most basic cooking method. You may stuff it or leave it unstuffed. Bear in mind that if you decide to stuff your chicken, duck, goose, or turkey, this adds extra minutes to the cooking time. To make a full meal in one pot, roast with vegetables, like potatoes, carrots, and other root vegetables.

Boneless fillets are extremely versatile. Breasts and thighs can be pounded flat, dipped in a milk and egg mixture (like you are making French toast) and then coated in seasoned flour, panko or other types of crumb and shallow-fried on the stove top. Cut the pieces up and stir fry them in a wok along with noodles and a selection of vegetables. Add a sauce if you are feeling adventurous.

Chicken stew or soup is an option with lots of variation. At its simplest, throw it in a kettle with whatever vegetables you have on hand, season it to taste and there you go. You decide how thick or thin you want it. Add dumplings, and you have a one-pot meal. In the spring, summer, and early autumn, it is made for the barbecue. Marinate it in a prepared sauce or make up your own mixture and then grill. Serve with pasta or rice.

Cooking with poultry is cheap, versatile and healthy. It has lots of protein, little fat and contains those omega-3 fatty acids that everybody is always raving about.




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