If you’re like me, you have a swirl of thoughts racing from sunup to sundown as the school year cranks into motion. Will the buses be on time today? Why is the carpool line not moving an inch? I hope the kids are having fun and learning a lot. I hope everyone’s safe. Did she remember her mask? Did he remember his homework? Did I remember to brush my teeth this morning? Then there’s always What am I going to cook for dinner?
The last one is truly a conundrum for many of us, even for someone like me who has nutritional knowledge and enjoys cooking. Here are two tips that have helped calm my heart this week: 1) Read the news for some perspective and express gratitude. Parental pressures, while valid, are all minimal in the grand scheme of things right now when we glance around the world. 2) Make some of this slow cooker chicken stat. It is a game-changer!
This one, plus the Greek lemon chicken soup recipe, are actually throwbacks to the recipes posted by Smarty Pants’ clever co-founder Jen Plym about a year and a half ago (with some slight tweaks). These recipes should not live in the archives though because they are so. darn. good. As well as budget-friendly. One batch of the slow cooker chicken recipe helped me create a few different meals, all tasty and not overly difficult to prepare. Read on for several practical (and dare I say delicious) dinner ideas for a school night.
Slow Cooker Chicken Recipe
Ingredients
2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts
¼ cup apple cider vinegar
2 lemons, sliced
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon onion powder
¼ teaspoon salt
Directions
– Place chicken in the bottom of the slow cooker.
– Pour vinegar on top of the chicken.
– Sprinkle garlic powder, onion powder, and salt evenly across the top of the chicken.
– Cover the chicken with lemon slices.
– Cook on low 4 hours.
– Shred chicken and allow it to cool for use in other recipes.
Note: This freezes well. Store shreds in four portions to use ½ or 1 pound amounts based on what you need with less waste. You can place two portions in the same container and just slide them to opposite sides to pull out individual amounts later with ease.
Souper Smarty Greek Lemon Chicken Soup (Smarty Shannon’s Variation)
For those of you like me who are already feeling impatient for the Yiasou Greek Festival to arrive, you must try this. It is even better the next day as the orzo soaks up that lemony flavor and the broth thickens up.
Ingredients
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium leek, only white and pale-green parts, halved and then sliced crosswise ¼-inch thick
3 celery stalks, sliced crosswise ¼-inch thick
3 carrots, sliced crosswise ¼-inch thick
Half of slow cooker chicken recipe (or 1 pound of chicken, cooked and chopped or shredded)
64 ounces low-sodium, reduced fat chicken broth
¼ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper
1 cup orzo
Juice of 1 ½ lemons
6 oz. container baby spinach
Reduced fat feta crumbles
Directions
– Heat oil in a stockpot over medium until shimmery.
– Sauté leek, celery, and carrots until softened (about 5-8 minutes).
– Add chicken, broth, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil.
– Add orzo and cook until al dente, 8-10 minutes.
– Turn heat to low. Add spinach and lemon juice.
– Serve with feta to sprinkle on top.
Note: Kids love watching spinach “magically” melt (wilt) into the broth. This may even convince a little one to give it a try. This soup is hearty enough for a complete meal when paired with fruit.
Other chicken dinner ideas
Plant-forward chicken enchiladas: Use half the normal amount of chicken you might normally add to your favorite enchilada recipe. Bulk up the other half with plant protein you enjoy. We used mushrooms, spinach, and red peppers chopped up and mixed with the chicken.
Caesar chicken wraps: Toss cold chicken shreds with some Caesar dressing, cracked black pepper, and shredded parmesan to your liking. Place mixture in a whole wheat tortilla with some shredded romaine, and roll up tightly. Slice in half. Great packed up and chilled for those nights you need dinner-on-the go with kids’ activities.
