Pulling together a delicious dinner is simple and quick when you have the right ingredients. To do this, instead of looking for recipes for several easy one-pot meals, think about what ingredients you can cook and repurpose several ways. When you prepare one main ingredient, you can create several easy dinners in less time than several one-pot dishes.
One fabulous ingredient that is easy to repurpose is roast chicken. You can prepare it in 5-10 minutes, repurpose it into many meals, and freeze some leftovers for another week. It is so flavorful that everyone will swoon over it, and as you will see, this gourmet dish is almost effortless to make.
In this post, I will show you when to make it so it's convenient, how to serve it, and how to repurpose it into new dishes so good no one will think of them as "leftovers."
You can find the full recipe with several variations here, but this is how simple it can be. To make a perfect Roast Chicken, rub a whole chicken with good-quality butter, sprinkle it with sea salt and fresh-ground pepper, then roast it in the oven until it's done. That's the super simple version, which, although simple, won't disappoint you.
Other versions include adding fresh herbs like thyme and lemon inside and placing some butter, more fresh herbs, and garlic under the skin, which is my favorite. Adding some lemon herbs or garlic only takes a few more minutes. When the chicken is cooked, the butter, herbs, lemon, and garlic combine to create a rich and succulent juice full of flavor. This juice is not only delicious but also nutritious. You will see when the juice cools, it is like gelatin. This is pure gold for flavor and nutrients like collagen- think bone broth. And something that boneless skinless chicken breasts do not produce.
That flavorful juice also makes a delicious and nutritious sauce for pasta — and as easy leftovers idea. So don't toss your sauce!
If you are concerned about the fat in the chicken skin, consider this is a good fat, full of flavor. Flavor must come from somewhere, and I'd much rather flavor come from a grass-fed, free-range organic chicken than "organic" chicken nuggets or a store-bought spice blend sprinkled over boneless (and tasteless) chicken breast baked on a sheet pan that produces a bland boiled taste versus a rich caramelized flavor.
Slice and serve the roast chicken as the main dish. If you aren't sure how to cut a chicken, it's simple. I use a knife to cut and separate the thighs, legs, and wings, then slice the white meat from the bone. Then, lay everything in the cooking pan so the chicken soaks up the delicious juice. If it is a little messy, don't worry, no one is watching. It's just a family dinner. The more you do it, the better you will get.
Use leftover chicken breast meat to serve on crêpes melted with fresh gruyère, Swiss cheese, or other favorite fresh cheese. If you don't have any crêpes, no problem. They are simple and fun to make, so it's perfect for a family brunch on Saturday or Sunday morning. Then, freeze the leftovers. When you need some, they pull apart easily. Then you can warm them in the oven with the toppings, and dinner is done in minutes. In this post, you can learn how to make authentic French Crêpes, freeze them, and find serving ideas.
Serve crêpes with a bowl of soup (also ideal for keeping in your freezer) or a salad, and finish with some fresh fruit for dessert. You have a three-course gourmet meal ready in the time it takes to warm the crêpes and soup and prepare the fruit or salad.
How about seasoned roast chicken tacos to switch up your Taco Tuesday menu? With the chicken already prepared, making tacos is fast and easy. Pair this with a first course of salad or soup and follow with fresh fruit of the season and a small piece of good quality chocolate. This is another fast and easy gourmet-style dinner.
If you would like to also have fresh guacamole on hand for your tacos, you can find a kid's favorite recipe here and learn why it's better than store-bought, plus how to freeze it so it's ready when you are. And of course, leftovers ideas to use up the rest of your homemade guacamole.
Replace the jar of spaghetti sauce and make pasta with leftover chicken and that collagen-rich juice I mentioned above. It's nutritious and so good you would be proud to serve it to company. You can find the recipe idea made with leftover roast pork here — just swap out the pork for chicken. But it's this simple: cut the leftover chicken into bite-sized pieces, warm it in a pan with the juice, and then toss it with cooked pasta. It's already seasoned and delicious. However, I love adding fresh garlic, onion, and herbs like rosemary or a splash of cream — or white wine — to create a new flavor combination and unique dish.
Serve with your first course of choice and a fruit or a dairy course for dessert. The French Cheese course would be an excellent and effortless dessert idea. Because this dish is so quick, you have time to whip up a homemade Caesar dressing while the pasta cooks.
Serve leftover roast chicken cold with Aioli. Aioli is homemade mayonnaise with fresh garlic and one of the mother sauces in French cuisine. If cold leftover chicken isn't striking you as amazing, think of a leftover Thanksgiving turkey sandwich with mayo. It's the same concept, and this is a classic French dish. This is a fancy meal, but you'll laugh when you see how easy it is. To prepare the chicken, plate it and serve. Easy. To make the Aioli, use a stand mixer to blend egg yolk, olive oil, or grapeseed oil until thick. Add crushed garlic and salt and pepper. I have timed this process dozens of times, and it takes 3 minutes to make and about 2-3 minutes to peel and press the garlic. Once you have the knack for making it, your main dish is ready in under 10 minutes. Learn more about aioli and other methods to make it in this post.
Serve roast chicken with aioli with your choice of a first course, a soup, or a salad. Steamed vegetables or potatoes are also excellent with aioli and make an easy side dish.
Time tip- steam your veggies or potatoes the night or morning before so dinner prep is quick.
Finish the meal with the French cheese course or fresh fruit, and you will eat a high-end restaurant-quality meal with little effort and for just a few dollars per person.
Another option is to add homemade fries to this menu when you have the time for them to cook. Prep is easy. Peel the potatoes and slice them into perfect fries in minutes using a fry cutter. I have timed this one, too, and it takes 3 minutes to slice 6-8 potatoes using a fry cutter. Then, place the fries on a cookie sheet, toss them with olive oil, and bake until golden brown.
Fries are also divine dipped in aioli. In addition, aioli is much tastier and healthier than ketchup or ranch. The salt, sugar, and additives "taste good in ketchup and ranch." A farm-fresh egg, good olive oil, and fresh garlic produce unparalleled flavor in aioli. You can find the full recipe for easy homemade French fries here.
Don't waste what's left. Make chicken soup and freeze it. You'll need it one day. Then pair this soup with a hearty dessert like fruit clafoutis and have a fabulous dinner.
Or toss leftover chicken with rice and perhaps other leftovers like vegetables or steak. Add the juice from the chicken, and you have a sauce; add a splash of cream, and you have a creamy sauce; add an egg, and you have fried rice.
The low cost of all of these meals is also impressive. A chicken may cost $20-30, and you can get 3 to 4 meals or more for a family of four. When you add the cost of salad, potatoes, fruit, yogurt, or crepe batter, you can serve multiple gourmet-style three-course meals for around $3-5 per person — and have dinner ready in minutes.
To make roasting a chicken convenient, pop it in the oven when you are at home working, in the evening, or in the morning while doing something else. The prep time is only 5-10 minutes, and the oven does the rest of the work. When it is time to serve, cover it with foil and warm in the oven. If you can remove it from the fridge beforehand so the chill can wear off, it will warm faster.
If you are cooking for one or two people, you can buy a half chicken and roast it in the same manner.
If you are cooking fresh chicken (as opposed to previously frozen), you can freeze the white meat leftovers for another week.
Because that juice is loaded with flavor, nutrients, and collagen, it is pure gold. Even if there is no more leftover chicken, remember, toss don't the juice. Use the juice as a pasta sauce and pack it in a thermos for school lunch. Make some pasta the night before or in the morning, toss it with the leftover juice to warm, and pack it in a thermos. Your kids will love it!
Although any good Italian will say pasta must be eaten right after it is cooked, they would also agree packing pre-cooked pasta in school lunches is much more nutritious than packaged lunch products. Pasta with leftovers has been a weekly rotation on my kids' lunch menus for over 15 years. And don't forget about leftovers with rice for school lunch. All you need is a thermos to keep it warm.
There is something romantic about roast chicken. It's a classic in French cuisine found on menus throughout France. Have you seen the movie Something's Gotta Give with Diane Keaton and Jack Nicholson? In this movie, Diane's character goes to Paris for her birthday to have a roast chicken in her favorite brasserie. A roast chicken is that good; it's worth traveling to Paris to have it, and you can make it in your kitchen in minutes with this recipe.
