From Grilled Chicken to Pasta Salad

Here are some ideas on batch cooking chicken and pasta to span two days of meals.

Day 1: Grilled Chicken, Creamy Garlic Pasta, and Garden Salad

The secret to perfectly grilled chicken is to bake it!  I put my chicken in a 13 x 9 pan and coat it with my favorite Italian dressing (Bernstein’s Restaurant Recipe Italian which I buy in bulk when it goes on sale) and bake at 350 until just done.  Here are more ideas for batch grilling chicken.

Sometimes when throwing a party I will do this the day before and refrigerate it until I need it. When I am ready to grill I brush some more dressing on the chicken and put it on the grill just long enough to warm it up, add grill lines, and give it a smokey flavor.

Creamy Garlic Pasta Recipe

Ingredients:

• 1 – 2 lbs. of penne noodles, cooked according to the directions on the box.
• 2 Tablespoon butter
• 2-4 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 Tablespoon flour
• 3/4 cup chicken broth or vegetable broth
• 3/4 cup milk
• 1 Tablespoon parsley

Directions:

1. Melt butter; add garlic and brown.
2. Add flour and cook until smooth and bubbly.
3. Slowly add milk and broth; stirring constantly.
4. Cook over a medium heat, while stirring until mixture boils and thickens.
5. Add parsley.

You can add this sauce directly to 1 lb. of cooked noodles, but today I am going to serve the garlic sauce on the side, so that I can make use of any uneaten noodles tomorrow in a pasta salad.

Making a Real Garden Salad

When I make a garden salad, I go out to the garden with a colander and pinch, pull, and cut until the colander is full. Then I bring the colander in and run the vegetables under the faucet and let them drip dry.   So the salad is composed of what ever is ripe and ready to eat!  Here is a partial list of items that make good salad material: arugula, Swiss chard (chop the stalks like celery and pinch the leaves like lettuce), lettuces, spinach, radishes, carrots, snap peas, parsley, green onions, tomatoes, kale, broccoli, bell pepper, and mustard leaves.

Day 2: Pasta Salad Recipe

Ingredients (Amounts are Approximate):

• 6 cups leftover penne noodles
• 2 leftover grilled chicken breast, chopped into bite size pieces
• 4 cups chopped vegetables (if I use tomatoes I use cherry or grape tomatoes because they keep and toss better than if I chop up a large tomato.)
• 1/2 bottle leftover Italian dressing

Directions:

1. Combine all of the above ingredients in a large bowl and toss until everything is completely coated with dressing.
2. Serve chilled.

More Batch Cooking Ideas:

Save Money with Batch Cooking

Batch Cooking for Breakfast

How to Batch Cook in Season