It’s Saturday, that means another recipe from the Left-Over-Gourmet.  Again, I use the word gourmet lightly.

Meal #1 Chicken with parsley potatoes, steamed string beans and peaches.

Chicken breasts make a really nice Sunday dinner.  The key here is to make much more than you will use for one meal. Cook it once, that’s my motto.  I use the skinless split breasts.  Sprinkle with seasoned salt, garlic and pepper. I like to brown them on the top of the stove and then either bake or put them in the crock pot.  If you put them in the oven cover with tin foil so you can collect some of the juices.  With either method some fresh sage and rosemary in the pot will give a wonderful fragrance to the kitchen as well as flavor the chicken. The timing really depends on the size of the chicken breasts and how much you are cooking.  Key is not to over cook and dry out the meat. Crock pots are all different so check the instructions that came with yours.

For the potatoes, cook twice what you will use for one meal. Get the young red potatoes or a combination of the red, yellow and purple.  Don’t peal.  Wash, cut into bite size pieces and boil in salted water.  Drain and divide into two mixing bowls.  Chop one bunch fresh parsley. Sprinkle some of the parsley on the potatoes for this evening’s dinner with butter.  Set the rest of the parsley and the 2^nd bowl of potatoes (cover them to keep warm) aside till after dinner.

Fresh string beans are plentiful this time of year.  Steam twice what you will use for dinner.  Take half of them out and toss with a little butter and sliced almonds for dinner.  Set the rest aside till after dinner.

Slice some peaches while everything is cooking.  Poach with a little apple juice then toss with agave nectar and cinnamon to taste.  Again, make extra.

This is a nice meal that will stretch it into several quick meals? After dinner take half of the left-over chicken, slice it and put it in the refrigerator. The rest of it you are going to cut into bite size pieces and freeze.

Mix that second bowl of potatoes with the parsley. Chop a small red onion and add it to the mix with some chopped celery.  Now add a little olive oil, real bacon bits, some cider vinegar, sugar, salt and pepper and you have a beautiful potato salad for later in the week.  Toss the left over string beans with your favorite vinaigrette dressing and refrigerate.

If there are peaches left over just refrigerate. You can heat them up for breakfast and serve over waffles or pancakes instead of syrup.

One day during the week you can have burgers or steak on the grill and serve with that wonderful potato salad and bean salad you made. For a third meal take that sliced chicken out of the refrigerator to make a Chicken Caesar Salad. Serve it with some garlic bread and fresh sliced tomatoes and basil.

Remember that third bag of rice from last week – you are going to use it. Either this week or next week you can make a chick stir-fry.  Defrost the rice from last week and the chicken chunks from this week.  Put either Pam or some olive oil in the bottom of a wok or large skillet. Sauté onion, peppers, broccoli, squash (or whatever vegetable you like) with some minced garlic. Add in the chicken and heat through.  In a separate dish mix some soy sauce with, lemon grass and ginger to taste (you can use prepared Teriyaki or Peanut sauce if you prefer).  Now add the bag of rice and viola and quick and easy meal.