I made Coriander Chicken Thighs today and modified the recipe to do on the grill. I cooked them ahead of time as we have too much going on tonight and I wanted to make sure we would still have a good dinner. I will put some rice in the rice maker and saute come cabbage right before sitting down and we will have a meal in no time!

Take advantage of the time you have even if it is not right before dinner time as many things can be made ahead and rewarmed or served room temp. A family meal is worth the bit of effort you need to put in to plan ahead.

As it is Soup Week over at Fine Cooking I have been making several batches of soup. It is a great way to stock the freezer for busy nights! This soup is inspired by a dish my mother used to make when I was a kid, it is an easy one to put together, even on a busy night- just pick up a rotisserie chicken on your way home and 30 minutes later you’ll have soup! To make it vegetarian or vegan you could subsititute chick peas or tofu for the chicken.

Chicken Curry Soup

1 onion, diced

2 stalks celery, finely chopped

1 granny smith apple, peeled and finely diced

1 Tbs olive oil

1 Tbs curry powder (or more to taste)

salt and pepper

4 cups broth (I use homemade chicken broth from the freezer, but veggie broth or bullion will work well too.)

1 rotisserie chicken cut up (or substitute chick peas or tofu)

1 cup cooked rice (on a busy night microwave a package of Thai rice from Trader Joe’s)

In a soup pot, heat the olive oil over med-high heat. Add onion and celery. When starting to get limp add the apple and stir. Let saute for a few minutes then add the curry powder. Stir well then add the broth followed by the chicken. Let simmer for about 20 minutes, then add rice. Serve hot.

This is a great dish that comes together very quickly if you have already prepared the onions. I love it over polenta, but my husband does not like polenta so I often serve it with orzo or mashed potatoes instead.

Chicken with Caramelized Onion, Mushrooms and Sundried Tomatoes

(adapted from Fine Cooking #71)

1/2 pound of white mushrooms, cleaned and quartered

kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

3 Tbs olive oil

1.5 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 2 inch chunks

flour for dredging

3/4 cup chicken broth

3/4 cup caramelized onions (this about 1/2 of the 2 Lb batch I posted about here)

6 sundreid tomatoes, thinly sliced

1 Tbs balsamic vinegar

1/4 cup flat leaf parsley, chopped

In a bowl, toss the mushrooms with salt and pepper. Heat the oil in a large skillet over med-high heat. Season the chicken with about 1/2 tsp salt and some pepper and then dredge with flour. Saute the chicken pieces, flipping once until golden on both sides (it is ok if they are not fully cooked as they will continue cooking). Add the mushrooms and cook, stirring until they are lightly browned, about 3 minutes. Add the chicken broth, onions and tomatoes. Bring to a boil then reduce heat and simmer. Cook until chicken is firm and cooked through (about 6 minutes). Add the vinegar and half the parsley. Taste and adjust for salt and pepper if needed. Serve sprinkled with remaining parsley.

Wow, these are delicious! I got this recipe from the archives of Fine Cooking. Yum!

To make them easier for the kids, go lightly on the pepper for a few of the pieces.

Coriander Chicken Thighs (adapted from Pamela Anderson)

8-12 boneless chicken thighs, trimmed of fat

olive oil for coating

salt and pepper

1 Tbs ground coriander

2 Tbs fish sauce

2 Tbs brown sugar

lime juice

thinly sliced scallions

Set the broiler on high. Spray a broiler pan with pan spray. Coat the chicken with a small amount of olive oil. Sprinkle each side with salt, pepper and coriander. Rub the seasoning into the meat.

In a small bowl combine the fish sauce and brown sugar. Set aside.

Lay the thighs on the broiler pan and broil until they are just opaque on top, abut 3-4 minutes. remove from oven and brush the tops with the sauce (do not flip) and return to oven. Broil another 4-5 minutes or until browning and cooked through. Transfer to a serving plate and pour the pan juices over them. Squeeze lime juice over the chicken and sprinkle with scallions.

This was so good, my husband and I were fighting over the last piece. The kids liked it too, though my daughter was a bit put off by the pepper, next time I will set aside a piece for her that has no pepper. I served it with jasmine rice and sauteed cabbage.

We had these at a friend’s house and the kids thought they were delicious. Sort of like Chicken Parmesan without the cheese. My friend gave me a very vague recipe so I played around with it and came up with this.

Chicken Meatballs

3 Chicken Breasts (mine weighed 1.35 Lbs.)

2 eggs

1/2 tsp kosher salt

1 Tbs fresh parsley, minced

1 cup bread crumbs

1/2 cup water or milk

1/2 tsp garlic powder

For Sauce:

1 medium onion, diced

1 Tbs olive oil

1 28 oz can crushed tomatoes

1 tsp salt

1 tsp sugar

pepper

1/3 cup chopped roasted red peppers

Heat olive oil in a large sauce pot (I like using my Le Cruset Pot). When hot add onion and stir until soft and starting to brown on edges. Add crushed and diced tomatoes, salt, pepper and sugar. Simmer for 5-10 minutes then add the red peppers.

Meanwhile place the chicken breasts in a food processor and process until well minced. In a large bowl moisten the bread crumbs with water (or milk) and eggs. Add the garlic powder, salt and parsley.Add the chicken to the bread crumb mixture and work with your hands until blended. Wet your hands and form into balls. Heat some olive oil in a fry pan and gently fry the chicken meatballs until golden. Add the the sauce, and cook for about 30 minutes. These can be made ahead and reheated for dinner, or frozen for later use.

I keep seeing versions of this online so I thought I should try it. Here is an amalgam of many different recipes. I wanted a non-dairy coating and I prefer to bake my chicken rather than fry it. Here goes:

Pretzel Chicken

hard pretzels, crushed (about 1 1/2 cups, I did not measure)

1 Tbs dijon mustard

3 Tbs vegetable oil

1 Tbs red wine vinegar

3 Tbs water

1.5 lbs chicken breasts, cut into pieces (I trimmed the breasts, split them in half and then cut each half into two pieces)

Pan spray

Preheat oven to 400F. Place pretzels in a large ziploc bag and crush with a mallet or rolling pin. My 3 yr old loved this part! In a shallow bowl mix the mustard, oil, vinegar and water until smooth. Dip chicken pieces in mustard mixture then coat with pretzel crumbs. Place on a cooling rack on top of a baking sheet. Lightly spray the chicken pieces with pan spray. Bake for about 20 minutes.

I cooked these ahead of time and will reheat them along with smashed potatoes and sauteed zucchini for dinner.