52 New Recipes, Week 10 | Chicken with Pesto Cream Sauce

This week I tried a recipe from my ATK library book.

We gave this pesto chicken a 5/10, not so much because it was awful but because it was kind of bland.

The sauce was good, but the chicken itself was just…meh.

We find ourselves frequently thinking this about recipes that are basically chicken with a sauce.

(Remember the chicken with the cheezy orzo?)

So, I’m thinking I should remember that and pick chicken recipes that have a marinade or crispy coating or something like that.

That’s one bummer about quick cooking books…they almost never call for marinades or overnight salting, which is sort of a pity. A little ahead-of-time prep in the form of marinating really can help you get dinner on the table in a hurry, even though it’s not technically quick cooking.

I did salt and pepper the chicken and I browned it over high heat, but that still left a bland inside.

Ah well. You win some, you lose some.

Next Week’s Recipe

To combat the boring chicken issue we’ve been having, I pulled out my ATK Make-Ahead cookbook and picked out Indian-Spiced Chicken with Yogurt Sauce.

(My review of ATK’s Make-Ahead Cook.)

This recipe involves marinating chicken overnight, which greatly decreases the chances of eating in Bland City again.

Here’s hoping for a success next week!

How about you?

What new recipe did you try this week? And what are you planning to make this coming week?

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Shel_B

Tuesday 14th of March 2017

Asian cuisine usually tops my dinner faves, but yesterday I discovered something out of the usual go to....smoked sausage with cabbage! Checks off the easy, frugal and delicious boxes! It's now being moved to our 30 favorite dinner list.

WilliamB

Friday 10th of March 2017

FG, have you considered brining, salting, or marinating the chicken first, then proceeding with the chicken-and-sauce recipes as before?

Kristen

That is a good idea! But I just need to remember. Heh.

I did try salting chicken breasts a while back (like a dry brine) but I think I must have salted them too early because the texture turned kind of odd. I wonder if boneless, skinless breasts only need a short while to dry brine.

KimN

I agree about the bland chicken issues. Its almost gotten to the point where I don't want to make chicken at all. I've found cooking chicken with the skin on (and then removing it after if desired) helps a lot with flavor. If I was worried about the fat ruining the sauce, I prepare them separately and then combine in the end. I would season and sear the chicken and finish cooking in the oven. While it was baking, I would prepare the sauce and then combine.

I don't know about others, but I almost feel like chicken is tasting more and more like....well....nothing as the years go by. I swear it didn't used to be that way. I've tried all kinds of brands, organic and not, and it always seems to be the case. Its like they are breeding or manufacturing out the taste, while simultaneously making the chicken pieces freakishly large.

Shannon

Thursday 9th of March 2017

I use boneless, skinless chicken thighs as I find chicken breasts tend to dry out and be bland.

Tina S

I'm with you and bland chicken. For my meal prep this week, I made 5 bags of marinated chicken. I did two with a recipe I'm familiar with and 3 new recipes.

I also made a couple new dishes. I made Minestrone Garden soup in an instant pot. Came out great. It took 20 minutes to come to pressure and 4 minutes to cook. Amazing... flavor. I also made in a the crockpot Mexican Pork Taco meat. It was very bland like your chicken and it really didn't have Mexican seasonings either. I should have realized that when I read the recipe and it called for Montreal Steak seasoning. I really should try recipes off the internet. I did save it and put it in the freezer for emergency dinners. If you load it with salsa, cilantro salad dressing, sour cream and guac it tastes pretty good.