Busy Day Chicken Dinners: Cook Once, Eat Twice

With today's busy schedules, it is hard to find time to cook the family a healthy meal. Work all day, take Jimmy to soccer practice, Suzy to ballet class, Timmy to the library. Who has time to cook every night? Yet, with the current economy and the ever-expanding American waistline, take-out meals are no longer an option.

With careful planning, you can cut your cooking time and make satisfying, healthy meals for your family almost every night. The key is to think ahead and make extra portions of main ingredients for use in more than one meal. This style of cooking is often referred to as "cook once, eat twice."

Here is an example of planning complementary meals to feed a family of four using this technique: Southwestern Chicken and Chicken Rollups.

What you will need for the following two days:

5-6 skinless chicken breasts (4 breasts to eat on the first night, 1-2 breasts to mince into 1 1/2 cups cooked chicken for the second night)
1 bottle of your favorite BBQ sauce
4 slices Monterey Jack cheese
1 small can diced green chilies (you'll use about 3/4 of the can on the first night, the other 1/4 the second night)
1-8oz package cream cheese (use non-fat or low fat, if desired)
4 (10-inch) tortillas
Fresh spinach (about 3 cups - 1 1/2 cups each night)
Your favorite salad vegetables
Sour cream (optional)
Ranch dip or salsa for dipping

'Cook Once' Preparation:

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

You will be cooking the chicken breasts all at the same time, but you may wish to use two dishes to prevent flavors from mixing. Put 4 chicken breasts in one dish, the other 1-2 breasts in the second dish.

Sprinkle all the breasts with a little bit of salt. Cover the 1-2 breasts with foil and bake. Top the 4 breasts with BBQ sauce and bake uncovered, basting every 10-15 minutes with the sauce. Cooking should take between 30-45 minutes, depending on the size of the breasts. The meat will be done when no pink remains and the juices run clear. Set aside the 1-2 breasts to cool, then mince in your food processor or chop into very small pieces.

While the chicken is cooking, slice your vegetables for salad the first night and dipping the second.

Day 1: Southwestern Chicken

Divide 3/4 of the can of chilies between the BBQ chicken breasts, and then top with the Monterey Jack cheese slices. Put back in the oven just long enough to allow the cheese to melt. Serve with little bit of sour cream, if desired.

Use your salad vegetables and half your spinach to make a healthy side salad.

Serve the meal with macaroni and cheese, cooked rice or mashed potatoes.

Day 2: Chicken Rollups

Combine the cream cheese, 1 1/2 cups minced chicken, and the remaining diced chilies; mix until well blended. Divide evenly between the 4 tortillas. Divide your remaining fresh spinach between the chicken mixture topped tortillas. Roll each tortilla jellyroll style and tightly wrap in plastic wrap. Chill in the refrigerator for at least one hour. Slice them before serving.

Serve with the ranch dip or salsa, along with your remaining sliced vegetables.

The Day 2 meal can made the night before, if desired. Just make sure the meat has completely cooled before making and wrapping the rolls.

By cooking your meals in the described manner, you will easily save yourself anywhere from 35 minutes to several hours between the two days. As an added bonus to using the "cook once, eat twice" method, you should see a reduction in utility bills due to the oven not being used as often and less water being used for cleanup. Finally, you will gain peace of mind from knowing you are providing your family a healthy meal every night, despite your busy schedule.