I don’t always want to decide what to cook from scratch when I get home from work. Having a few ingredients ready gives me something to work with, and I can decide what sounds good that day.
Cooked chicken, quinoa, some vegetables, a little cabbage and an apple can become a couple of different meals. Add a skillet dinner to the week, and you have another option with a completely different flavor.
A warm chicken and quinoa bowl
Put cooked quinoa and roasted vegetables in a bowl, add your chicken, and warm everything through. Finish with lemon, a little olive oil and whatever herbs you enjoy.
Carrots, peppers, broccoli or squash would all work here. Use what you have and what you like. The idea is to put together a satisfying meal from ingredients that are already waiting for you.
Apple cabbage chicken salad
For something crisp, how about an apple cabbage chicken salad? The apple and cabbage give it crunch, and the beans give it more substance. It’s a different lunch from the warm bowl, even though some of the ingredients came from the same preparation.
Skillet Filipino Chicken Adobo with Rice
Get the Filipino Chicken Adobo with Rice recipe, including the option to cook the rice in the same skillet.
This meal starts with raw chicken thighs. Brown them, then simmer with garlic, vinegar, soy sauce, bay leaves and black pepper.
The rice can cook in the same skillet using the recipe’s directions, absorbing the cooking liquid as the chicken finishes. Add sautéed cabbage or another vegetable alongside it.
Give your ingredients a plan
Decide which meal you want first. Use cooked chicken for the bowl and salad, and keep the thighs for the adobo separate until you’re ready to cook them.
Portion cooked food for the meals ahead. Refrigerate it promptly and freeze portions you won’t use within 3 to 4 days of cooking. Count that time from when the chicken was first cooked. Reheat hot leftovers to 165°F.
That’s the flexible preparation behind Purpose on the Plate. A few useful ingredients give you choices, and the time you spend in the kitchen helps with more than one meal.
Choose the meal that sounds good to you, and let a little preparation make the next one easier.