Some dishes, I think, are just too predictable, too obvious to even be mentioned to others—“Hey! Guess what I cooked today?”—and certainly they are not to be blogged about! Talk about roasted chicken. Or even braised chicken. They just seem to be too… (Fill in the blank), because I/we assume that everyone knows how to make them. Well, we know that this is isn’t so. Some people out there do need exactly those types of recipes.

However! What if I/we could make three meals out of one predictable, too obvious dish? It sure can save a lot of people a lot of time and get three dinners done!

It starts with chicken thighs roasted in tomatoes and herbs. Simple.

You have that for dinner,

… and you take the leftover sauce the next day and buzz it in the food processor to make the ever-predictable pasta with tomato sauce as a second meal (using 1-2 cups of the sauce). Easy, simple. Everyone can do that.

… and the third time around, you eat any leftover sauce as a soup, ooooor you can make shakshuka! How very simple.

Now, what do you say about that?

I say this is efficiency at its best.

Simple and predictable roasted chicken with tomato sauce and herbs

Serves 4-6

4 whole chicken legs, (split to thigh and leg, optional)
1 can 28 oz. diced/crushed tomatoes
4 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped
1/2 to 1 onion, peeled and chopped
1 handful fresh herbs such as parsley and thyme (or use 1 teaspoon dried herbs)
1/4 cup white wine, optional
A good drizzle of extra virgin olive oil
Salt and black pepper

Put all the ingredients in a 9 * 13-inch baking dish, season well and roast at 375 degrees F for 50-60 minutes.

For pasta sauce, soup, and/or shakshuka:

Put everything that is left in the pan besides chicken in a food processor bowl and pulse till smooth. (I didn’t measure how much sauce was left. Will do next time…)

Use some of the sauce for pasta and some to be eaten as tomato soup or use it to make shakshuka.

Categories : Chicken, Cooking tips, Main dishes/entrées, Recipes, Soups