Help me not be bored to death with chicken, please!

[NanceXToo]

Because I'm on a diet, I eat a LOT of boneless, skinless chicken breast. It doesn't help that I'm not a big fan of fish (I eat shrimp but I just don't like fish unless it's battered, fried and dipped in ketchup or tartar sauce or something). So I eat chicken multiple times a week. Oh, and I don't really like dark meat, so it's always chicken breasts.

 

I need to cook my chicken in a way that it's not overly time consuming (I don't want any fancy recipes that require a thousand ingredients I'm not likely to have on hand and a hundred complicated steps, I'm not that much of a cook to begin with lol), is low fat, and still tastes good.

 

I do the regular bake it with the standard seasonings kind of thing (salt, pepper, garlic, maybe sazon etc) and serve it with baked potatoes or brown rice or some such.

 

I do chicken fajitas/tacos with low-cal wraps, lettuce, tomato, fat free cheddar cheese and lite sour cream.

 

Sometimes I put a low fat cream of mushroom soup on it before baking and serve with brown rice and veggies.

 

Sometimes I bake it with ff mozzarella cheese and top it with sauce for a healthy "chicken parm" kind of thing and have it with Smart Taste pasta.

 

Sometimes I do a low fat chicken "scampi" with 0 cal butter spray, lemon and garlic and have it with brown rice or Smart Taste pasta...

 

Sometimes I take leftover chicken and we'll just do chicken sandwiches on lite bread with lettuce and tomato and reduced fat mayo or low cal ranch spray or something.

 

But those are about all the ideas I've got. Do you guys have any other ideas for me? I've been eating tons of chicken for the past two months and I need some fresh ideas of what to do with it.

 

Thanks in advance :)

[TheCoffeeChick]

This is my absolute favorite way to have chicken - I'd eat it once a week if I could! :)

 

Bourbon Chicken

 

1 lb. chicken breast meat, cut into 1 inch cubes

2 T. olive oil

2 cloves minced garlic

1/2 C. water

1/3 C. soy sauce

1/4 C. apple juice

2 T. ketchup

1/4 tsp. ground ginger

1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes

1/3 C. brown sugar

1 T. cider vinegar

1 T. cornstarch

 

Mix everything together, except chicken, olive oil, & cornstarch. Add chicken and marinate in fridge for 4 hours. Keeping the sauce for later - drain the chicken and add to frying pan with hot oil over medium-high heat. Brown chicken. Pour the reserved sauce into the pan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 5-10 minutes. Mix cornstarch with a little water and pour into the chicken mixture, stirring constantly. Mix until thickened and serve.

 

We eat this with white rice and peas normally.

 

You don't have to marinate it if you are in a hurry - it just gives it a bit more flavor. Most of the time I don't.

[Mejane]

Stuffed chicken breasts - Butterfly and stuff with spinach or broccoli and a bit of cheese. Season and bake.

 

Chicken piccata - Saute in oil and remove. Add a bit of butter, some lemon juice and capers.

 

Buffalo chicken salad - Cut in chunks, saute and add hot sauce to taste. Serve over romaine salad with carrots and celery topped with light bleu cheese dressing.

Edited October 21, 2010 by Mejane

[MamaT]

Two ways my family loves chicken breasts are very simple. Pour Zesty Italian dressing over it and bake. Pour Mojo (in the Hispanic food section) over it and bake. Mojo is also good over rice - or just about anything for that matter.

[Parrothead]

Chicken Florentine with feta

 

Caesar salad with grilled chicken: your basic Caesar topped with grilled chicken

 

Garlic chicken

[MamaAkins]

Chicken kabobs with squash, zucchini, mushrooms with a side of brown rice.

Chicken teriyaki with stir fried chinese veggies and rice.

 

I'm not sure of the specifics of your diet, but could you make chicken quesadillas? (Chicken and cheese in a tortilla)

 

Maybe if you give us some more specifics of your diet, we can make better suggestions!

[myfunnybunch]

Do you like pesto? Last night I made garlicky pesto chicken. Slice chicken breasts in half, pound flat, and marinate in extra-garlic pesto for up to 8 hours. Dredge lightly in flour, s&p and put in a heated skillet with olive oil for 2-3 minutes on each side until browned and cooked through. It was delicious. I know that pesto isn't exactly low-fat, but a little goes a long way for flavor, so you don't get a whole lot of pesto per serving.

 

We also like our chicken on salads. Chicken breast strips on a bed of greens or romaine with veggies, nuts and dried fruit and your favorite low-fat salad dressing. Yum.

 

Also, you might want to look into Indian and Greek flavors for something a little different...lots of yogurt and cucumber and such, and it's delicious.

 

Cat

[LBS]

whilst family eats other things. Grilling helps. Grilling lots of them helps, and freezing so family does not use as snack food helps.

 

Three wonderful marinade/seasonings that I use a lot: Montreal seasoning for chicken, like the Montreal Steak seasoning. Also, Stubb's Rosemary and Ginger spice rub is pretty great. Favorite, favorite for any meat is Dale's. It comes under different names, Moore's, a Food Lion version, a Kroger version (if I'm remembering correctly), but Dale's seems to be the original, although I'm not sure why I think that. Its mostly soy sauce, I think, but really easy to use and just has a great flavor. Marinate for hours or ten minutes. I get the huge pack of chicken breasts from Costco, partially thaw by running cold water thru the big bag, then pour some Dale's in and get husband to grill when grilling other meat. Having it ready in the freezer helps me not go astray on diet.

 

Good luck,

LBS

[treestarfae]

I like chicken ala king toasting the bread slices cupped in muffin tins. it fits the chicken filling nice.

[ElizabethB]

Do you like ground turkey? That is a good, healthy meat, too, I have a few ideas if you like that.

 

Whole chicken might be more economical even if you can't pawn off the legs on anyone, it is usually cheaper than breasts. You can also make a lot of easy meals with a whole chicken.

 

I make a whole chicken on top of potatoes, carrots, and celery. Bake the whole thing in the oven for a few hours, top it with olive oil and either 1. Salt, pepper, garlic, paprika 2. Italian spices 3. Salt, pepper, chicken type seasonings, sage

[JoyfulMama]

Cut chicken into smaller pieces (really, only because it's faster to cook and serve). Brown on the stovetop. Add a jar of salsa (I really like the pineapple salsa for this). You can either add some additional frozen veggies to that and heat through, or you can serve with a vegetable on the side, along with rice.

 

(You can also serve with some shredded cheese, but we don't.)

[wapiti]

Honey-lime marinade

 

Marinade chicken tenders in equal parts honey/olive oil/lime juice - I do a 1 lb package of chicken with 2 tbsp of each of the above - with 1 tsp cumin, 1 tsp salt for a minimum of 30 minutes. With or without fresh cilantro. Grill or saute tenders 3 minutes per side (longer-cooking cuts may burn the honey). Great with southwestern-themed dinner (black beans, etc.). Also great marinade for chicken breast sandwiches. Credit goes to Rachel Ray. Hmmm, let's see if I can find the actual recipe:

 

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/rachael-ray/grilled-honey-lime-chicken-sandwiches-recipe/index.html

 

This is my go-to recipe for grilling chicken.

[fairfarmhand]

I grill chicken breasts ALOT. Visit the spice aisle in your grocery store and play with the spices. I love the Adobo spice from Goya...mmmmm

 

Grilled Chicken Breast is good hot or cold, by itself, on a salad, or on a sandwich.

[wapiti]

also try a chimichurri marinade/sauce

[NanceXToo]

Thanks, everyone! Compiling and printing. :D

[Photo Ninja]

Don't forget soup:

 

Chicken Veggie (or Chicken Rice or Chicken Potatoes or Chicken Noodle)

 

Use fat free (if your diet is low fat) or regular chicken broth, or make your own from your chicken

Add some spices. Poultry seasoning is good, Italian Seasoning, and garlic

Add whatever veggies you like (carrots, green beans, broccoli, cabbage, or whatever)

You can also add diced potatoes or rice or noodles. If you add noodles, add them last, after all the veggies are cooked because noodles cook fast and you don't want them to overcook and get gummy

Add your chicken (it will be cooked if you used chicken to make the broth, or just cook some up or use leftover from another meal)

 

There is no exact recipe. Just add what you like. You can't do it wrong.

 

To change your menu, make

 

Chicken Tortilla Soup:

 

Chicken broth

A small can of tomato paste and a can of diced tomatoes

Taco seasoning to taste

Add a can or two of black or pinto beans

Add a can of corn (or use frozen corn)

Add cooked chicken

To eat: crumple tortilla chips into a bowl. You can skip this if they are not on your diet. The soup is just as good without them. Add the soup and top with some cheese. You can make low fat tortilla chips by cutting corn tortillas into strips or wedges and baking them on a greased cookie sheet until they are crispy.

 

Minestrone Soup

 

Chicken broth

A can of diced or crushed tomatoes

Italian Spice and Garlic

Can of cannellini beans or white beans

Sliced zucchini, mushrooms, carrots, onions, fresh spinach

chicken

small pasta (tiny rings, or whatever you find that looks good)

Serve with a dusting of parmesan or romano cheese

[Mom22ns]

My favorite for quick and easy is to cut chicken into small pieces then cook on the stove top with one cup of salsa and a lid on the pan. This makes wonderful "Mexican chicken" that we then wrap in a low calorie tortilla with some fat free cheese and black olives. It also works to put in chicken enchiladas.

 

I eat a lot of chicken breast too and my kids hate it when I grill which is my favorite. This one makes everyone happy and I don't even have to work :)

[Grace Academy]

This recipe uses whipping cream, really yummy.

[url=http://www.lowcarb-recipes.net/recipes/Main-Dish/Chicken/Chicken-in-Onion-Cream-Gravy.html][/url]http://www.lowcarb-recipes.net/recipes/Main-Dish/Chicken/Chicken-in-Onion-Cream-Gravy.html

[rafiki]

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