The most difficult question for any person is probably, ’What to make for dinner tonight?’ Chicken-based dishes are very popular and easy, but we often don’t know how to make them more interesting.
1. Spicy Mexican salad with chicken and vegetables
INGREDIENTS
4 small chicken breasts
1/2 medium-sized red cabbage
1 bell pepper
10 cherry tomatoes
1/2 lemon
A small tuft of parsley and/or cilantro
4 tablespoons of olive oil
1/2 teaspoon of brown sugar
Spices, according to taste (you can use caraway, black pepper, paprika, salt)
Yogurt
Pita bread if desired
PREPARATION
1. Grease the chicken fillets with the olive oil and sprinkle them with the spices and sugar. To marinate the meat, put it in the fridge for at least 30 minutes (it’s better to marinate it for a whole night).
2. Cut the chicken into cubes and fry with oil over a medium heat. Then add the juice from half a lemon.
3. Chop the cabbage and greens and cut the bell pepper into cubes. Divide the cherry tomatoes into halves. Toss the vegetables together with the fried chicken. Pour on the yogurt and sprinkle the greens over. You can serve the salad either on a plate or with pita bread.
2. Indian chicken and avocado salad
INGREDIENTS
500 g of chicken fillets
1/2 iceberg lettuce
2 avocados
250 g of toasted bread
1/2 red onion
1 tablespoon of seed oil
3 teaspoons of caraway
1/2 tablespoon of lemon juice
PREPARATION
1. Heat up the seed oil in a large frying pan over a medium heat. Cut the chicken fillets into small cubes, sprinkle them with the caraway and fry until the meat is golden.
2. Chop the lettuce and onion. Cut the avocados into cubes. Crumble up the toasted bread. Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and pour on the lemon juice.
3. Chicken salad with corn and pineapple
INGREDIENTS
300 g of chicken fillets
2 eggs
1 can of corn
380 g of canned pineapple
2 cucumbers
Mayonnaise
PREPARATION
1. Boil the chicken fillets and cut them into cubes. Slice the cucumbers into strips. Cut the pineapple into cubes. Hard boil the eggs and finely chop them.
2. Place all the ingredients on a plate in layers, greasing each layer with the mayonnaise. Order the layers like this: chicken, pineapple, then cucumber.
3. Let the salad sit for 15 or 20 minutes to soak up the dressing.
4. Garnish the dish with the chopped eggs and corn.
4. Crunchy chicken nuggets
INGREDIENTS
500 g of chicken fillets without the skin
1 egg white
1.5 cup of corn flakes
50 g of hard cheese
Pepper, salt, paprika and spices, according to taste
PREPARATION
1. Preheat the oven to 200°Ð¡. Whisk the egg white together with a small amount of water. In another bowl, combine the corn flakes, finely grated cheese, spices, salt and pepper, and mix everything well.
2. Cut the chicken into strips. Drop them in the batter first and coat in the corn flakes. Lay the chicken nuggets on a baking sheet.
3. Bake the nuggets in the oven for 15 to 25 minutes until they’re done.
5. Puff pastry rolls with chicken
INGREDIENTS
2 chicken breasts
1/2 onion
350 g of puff pastry
A handful of parsley
1 egg
Salt and pepper
PREPARATION
1. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees C. Slice the onion into thin half-moons. Finely chop the parsley. Whisk the egg. Shred the chicken meat in a blender and mix it together with the onion and parsley. Salt and pepper the filling.
2. Divide the pastry sheet in two, lengthwise. Place the chicken filling on each one. Make the rolls; grease the edges with the egg and fix them.
3. Grease the tops of the rolls with the egg to make a golden crust. Cut them into small pieces. Bake the rolls for 20 minutes until the crust appears.
6. Chicken and sausages spaghetti
INGREDIENTS
350 g of chicken thighs
200 g of sausages
350 g of spaghetti
2 onions
3 cloves of garlic
A small can of tomato paste or puree
A handful of grated cheese
2 bay leaves
Salt, pepper and oregano, according to taste
PREPARATION
1. Cut the chicken and sausages, add salt and pepper to the pieces. Heat up the olive oil in a pan at high temperature. Fry the chicken and sausages for five minutes, then place them in a bowl.
2. Add the onion, garlic, bay leaves and tomato paste to the same pan. Turn the heat down to low and fry for six to eight minutes until the onion gets tender. If the onion starts burning, add some water.
3. Cook the spaghetti according to the package instructions. Add it to the onion and fry for six minutes until the pasta turns golden. Then add some water to cover the pasta by one cm.
4. Simmer it, stirring, for ten minutes over a low heat until the pasta is al dente, and the sauce thickens. Add salt and pepper to the pasta and then add the fried meat. Before serving, sprinkle the dish with the grated cheese.
7. Funchoza with chicken and vegetables
INGREDIENTS
500 g of chicken fillets
200 g of funchoza (or rice noodles)
400 g of asparagus beans
2 onions
1 carrot
1 bell pepper
1 clove of garlic
50 ml of soy sauce
50 ml of rice vinegar if desired
Salt and pepper, according to taste
PREPARATION
1. Slice the fillets into long thin strips. Add the spices and stir-fry at a high temperature. Then add the sliced onion and stir-fry all over.
2. Cook the funchoza according to the package instructions: keep it in boiling water for five to seven minutes, then rinse it in cold water.
3. Cut the bell pepper into strips. Grate the carrot using a large-hole grater. Cook the asparagus beans. Fry all the vegetables together with the chopped or pressed garlic and spices until they’re done.
4. Combine the chicken, funchoza and vegetables. Dress the dish with the rice vinegar and soy sauce. It’s tasty both cold and hot.
8. Grilled chicken with honey and ginger
INGREDIENTS
1 kg of chicken legs
3 cloves of garlic
60 ml of soy sauce
1 tablespoon of grated ginger
2 teaspoons of honey
1 onion
1 leek or shallot
Roasted sesame seeds
PREPARATION
1. Place the chicken legs in a plastic bag. Add the soy sauce, garlic, ginger and honey, and mix everything well. Close the bag tight and marinate the chicken for four hours in the fridge.
2. Heat up the grill. Grill each side for three minutes until the chicken is done. Place the meat on a plate and let it sit for five minutes.
3. Grill the onion for one minute.
4. Add the onion to the chicken and mix. Garnish the dish with the shallot or leek and the sesame seeds.
9. Chicken risotto
INGREDIENTS
1/2 big chicken
500 g of frozen mixed vegetables
400 g of risotto rice
1 onion
150 g of cheese
2 tablespoons of olive oil
125 ml of cream
PREPARATION
1. Cook the chicken. Take the chicken out, peel the meat away from the bones and chop it.
2. Heat up the olive oil in a large saucepan. Chop the onion and stew it until it becomes tender.
3. Place the rice in the saucepan and mix it together with the onion. Pour in half of the stock and add the vegetables. Cover it with the lid, turn the heat down to low and cook until the rice is soft. Carry on adding the stock if you need, but in the end there shouldn’t be any water.
4. When the rice is done, add the grated cheese, chicken and cream.
5. Turn off the stove. Cover the rice and let it sit for ten minutes.
6. Risotto tastes better when served hot.