Dinner doesn’t have to be a production (& 7 rotisserie chicken meals)

Have you ever collected a bunch of recipes and purchased all the ingredients with high hopes of cooking a show worthy meal, only to have the items just sit in the fridge?

You are not alone.

I work with people to plan a healthier lifestyle. No matter the initial issue, one common thing often stands in the way of making dinner happen at home — our perception that it needs to have lots of ingredients and a food channel spin. It doesn’t. We simply get paralysis by analysis–dinner style. Getting dinner on the table doesn’t have to be super complicated or fancy. Using convenience items with quality ingredients can help bridge the gap between the attempting to serve the perfect dinner (which isn't really a thing) and calling for take-out.

These days you can pick up ready-to-go birds almost anywhere with quality and minimal ingredients. The best part of these meals… no one has to know the store-bought bird was involved. (If you've got one of those neighbors that likes to share your kitchen hacks at the table don't invite them.)

Here are a few of my favorite rotisserie chicken tricks:

Lemon Chicken & Veggie Penne Pasta–Add your chopped chicken to cooked penne pasta and any veggies you may have on hand like zucchini, red peppers, onion, and mushrooms. Sauté veggies with a generous amount of olive oil (1/4c + for 2-4 servings) and add the juice of one lemon. Mix all together and add grated parmesan, dried oregano, and salt and pepper to taste.

BBQ Chicken Pizza–Preheat your oven to 425 degrees. Chop up your chicken meat. Mix with your preferred BBQ sauce. Place on top of a tortilla or pita. Top with shredded cheese and sliced bell peppers. Pop in the oven for 8-10 minutes until crisp. Serve with a side salad.

Chicken Cobb Salad–Chop up that chicken and place on a bed of salad greens. Add sliced avocado, blue cheese crumbles, cucumbers, tomatoes, a little chopped bacon, and sliced boiled egg. Drizzle with olive oil and balsamic. If you have bacon and eggs already cooked and in the fridge, you’ll have dinner done in a snap.

And here are a few of my favorite rotisserie “easy peasy” meals:

Chicken Tacos–Just stuff in a tortilla with your favorite taco fixings.

Chicken & Veggie Stir Fry–Add a little sesame oil or butter and some soy sauce to your stir fry veggies of your choice (I like a frozen blend) and throw in your chicken. Serve over rice or quinoa.

Greek Chicken Pitas–Stuff a pita with sliced tomatoes, sliced cucumbers, pitted kalamata olives, a little romaine lettuce and your chicken. Add a little olive oil drizzle, salt, pepper and dried oregano.

Basic Chicken Noodle Soup–Throw 4 cups of chicken stock, 2 cups of water, 12-16 oz bag of mixed veggies, and 6 oz of your preferred pasta. Bring to a boil and cook as long per pasta package instructions. Once the pasta is ready, reduce heat to low and throw in some chicken, pepper, and a little dried parsley.

Enjoy!

And, if you’re ready to take the guesswork out of planning dinner every single night become a Your Supper Solution now! I mean who gets to say a nutrition expert plans their meals? Did I mention it's FREE? What are you waiting for? You’ll never ask “what’s for dinner” again!