Do you have any grocery shopping rituals? I have a few. Dinners are planned for the week (which I discussed here) and a list is made.

WITHOUT FAIL I forget something. Every. Stinking. Time.

Another ritual is what’s for dinner the day I go to the store.

Grocery shopping means our family enjoys fish for dinner. It’s typically steelhead trout, served with roasted potatoes and asparagus. It may be healthy but it’s very predictable.

The night before grocery shopping? I haven’t always planned that far in advance. It’s often a crapshoot.

I recently had one of those nights. I had a package of frozen chicken thanks to a sale.  What to do with said package was another story. Yes, I know there are a million things to do with chicken breasts. In fact, Pinterest provides me unlimited scrolling when I type in “chicken breast recipe.”

But I didn’t feel like putting forth a lot of effort or time. Perhaps you can relate?

I peered into the refrigerator, waiting for inspiration. Surely there was an easy, unique way to cook my chicken?

Nothing called to me. Enthusiasm for dinner prep waned. All I saw were accompaniments:  

• Four different brands of salsa, all almost gone
• Honey mustard salad dressing
• Half-full sauces from previous recipes
• Leftover ranch from our weekend wings order

Aha!

It wasn’t how to cook the chicken, but what to serve with it!

A customized meal

I threw together a neutral chicken breading. The creativity would come with different sauces. Everyone could have their own custom meal. Why haven’t I thought of this before?! 

I created a breading mix of almond meal, flax seed, salt, and pepper.

Because I was too lazy to pan-sear the chicken before baking, I just threw it in the oven and sprayed some olive oil on top. Voila! Slightly crispy chicken and one less pan to clean.

I got super fancy and served this with frozen broccoli and fruit salad yummy yummy. I can’t say “fruit salad” without adding “yummy yummy.” It’s a throwback to the four thousand episodes of The Wiggles my kids watched.

Cooking alternatives

• This could be prepared by grilling your chicken as well. However, if this is your choice, omit the flour and stick to salt and pepper. The key is to have neutral seasonings so the sauces can shine.

• You could also use chicken tenders or cutlets if you don’t have breasts.
• Keep your meal gluten-free by using almond flour. If that’s not a concern, pull out your white or whole wheat flour.
• If you’re lucky enough to have an HEB near you, I used 2 Tbsp of Killen’s S&P Blend in lieu of individual salt and pepper.

Click here for a printable version.

Saucy Chicken

Ingredients:

2 eggs

¼ cup milk (omit if dairy-free or use any other plain dairy-free milk)

2 lbs chicken breasts

1 cup almond flour/meal OR wheat or white flour

2 Tbsp ground flax seed

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp fresh ground pepper

Sauces:

Creamy Southwest: ⅓ cup salsa/ ¼ cup ranch dressing

Roberts Reserve Southwest dip

Newman’s Own Honey Mustard (alternatively make your own honey mustard)

Creamy Buffalo: ¼ cup buffalo dressing/ ¼ cup ranch dressing

Green Avocado Cream (bonus recipe below)

Pizza Sauce (your favorite brand)

Directions:

Heat oven to 350 degrees.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Slice chicken lengthwise into ½” portions.

Place two shallow bowls side by side. In one bowl, mix egg and milk. In the second, combine flour, flax seed, salt, and pepper.

Create an assembly line: Line up the egg mixture, the flour mixure, and the baking sheet. Dip the chicken in the egg mix, then flour mix, and place on baking sheet. Make sure the chicken is fully covered in the flour.

Spray chicken with an olive oil spray to help it crisp up.

Cook until internal temperature reaches 165, or about 20 minutes, depending on the thickness of your chicken. (I use the Weber iGrill thermometer I mentioned in my favorite grilling tools post so I don’t have to time it. I just wait for the beep and it’s magically cooked.)

While chicken is cooking, prepare sauces in individual bowls.

Round out your meal with an easily-prepared vegetable (like broccoli) and fruit salad yummy yummy.

Have any other creative sauces you’d like to contribute? Comment below!

Click here for a printable version of Green Avocado Cream

Green Avocado Cream:

Adapted from Run Fast. Eat Slow. by Shalane Flanagan and Elyse Kopecky

Ingredients:

2 small or 1 large ripe avocado, halved

1/2 cup cilantro

1 small or 1/2 large jalapeño Chile pepper, stem removed, quartered 

2 teaspoons lime juice

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt

1/4 cup water to thin (adjust to your preference)

Directions:

Scoop the meat from the avocado and place in a food processor with the Chile pepper, lime juice, oil, salt, and water. Process until smooth and transfer to a bowl. (I use a NutriBullet.)

Transfer to a mason jar or other bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate until ready to use.