Easy dinner recipes: Chili, salad and more quick chicken ideas

Looking for simple dishes for fall? It doesn’t get much easier than a quick chicken chili. If you love pomegranate, you can’t beat grilled chicken breasts with pomegranate-walnut sauce. And chicken salad garnished with dried cranberries and roasted almonds works well as a main dish or colorful side.

Jason’s chicken chili: For this 60-minute chili, shredded rotisserie chicken is simmered with kidney beans, jalapeño, tomatoes, diced peppers, cilantro, garlic and a medley of spices. It makes a great dinner, and even better leftovers.

Cayenne Cafe chicken with pomegranate-walnut sauce: This simple grilled chicken dish highlights the fruit in a rich garlic-walnut sauce that plays the tartness of the pomegranate against the sweetness of dark brown sugar.

RECIPES: 99 easy dinner ideas in about an hour or less

consider flank steaks with fresh chimichurri sauce. The sauce -- a little garlic, red wine vinegar, oil, fresh herbs and a touch of lemon juice -- comes together in almost no time, and those steaks will grill up in minutes. - See more at: https://latimesblogs.latimes.com/dailydish/2012/06/dinner-tonight-grilled-flank-steaks-chimichurri-sauce.html#sthash.hTvQknwx.dpuf
Curious Palate’s chicken salad: Shredded chicken is tossed with aioli and pesto, and served with a salad of tomato and green onion. Garnish the salad with roasted almonds and dried cranberries for serving. The recipe includes directions for roasting a chicken, though you can save time substituting a rotisserie chicken from the market.
You can find all of the recipes below.

And for more ideas, click through our easy dinner recipes gallery and check out our Dinner Tonight page, devoted to recipes that can be made in an hour or less. Looking for a particular type of recipe? Comment below or email me at noelle.carter@latimes.com.

Jason’s Deli’s chicken chili

1 hour. Makes 1 quart

1/4 cup diced onion, ¾-inch dice

1 1/2 teaspoons vegetable oil

2 tablespoons chopped garlic

1/4 cup diced red bell pepper, ¼-inch dice

2 tablespoons flour

1 teaspoon salt, or to taste

1 tablespoon chili powder

2 teaspoons cumin

1 cup canned diced tomatoes

2 cups chicken broth

1 cup canned dark red kidney beans, rinsed and drained

1 tablespoon diced jalapeño pepper, ¼-inch dice

1 1/2 teaspoons chopped cilantro

1 1/2 tablespoons diced canned green chile, 3/8-inch dice

3 cups shredded rotisserie chicken

In a small saucepot, cook the onion in the oil over medium-low heat until translucent. Add the garlic and cook until aromatic, about 1 more minute. Stir in the bell pepper, flour, salt, chili powder and cumin and continue to cook until the spices are aromatic, about 1 minute. Add the tomatoes, broth, beans, jalapeño, cilantro and green chile. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer, covered, for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Finally, add the chicken and continue to simmer, covered, until the chili is nicely thickened, about 20 minutes.

EACH OF 4 SERVINGS

Calories 302

Protein 32 grams

Carbohydrates 20 grams

Fiber 5 grams

Fat 10 grams

Saturated fat 2 grams

Cholesterol 79 mg

Sugar 4 grams

Sodium 1,363 mg

Cayenne Cafe chicken with pomegranate-walnut sauce

Total time: 30 minutes

Servings: 4

Note: Adapted from chef Noura Elnasser at Cayenne Cafe. To toast the walnuts, place them on a baking sheet in a 350-degree oven for about 8 minutes, until toasted. The restaurant serves this over rice pilaf.

4 boneless chicken breasts Salt 1 teaspoon black pepper, plus more for seasoning the chicken 1/4 cup light olive oil, plus more for brushing the grill 1/4 cup puréed pureed fresh garlic (about 16 cloves) 2 cups chopped toasted walnuts 1/4 cup pomegranate molasses, plus additional to taste 1/4 cup dark brown sugar, plus additional to taste 1 1/4b to 1 1/2 cups chicken broth

1. Heat a grill over medium-high heat. Slice each chicken breast on the bias into three crosswise pieces. With a mallet, pound each piece between two pieces of plastic wrap to one-fourth-inch thick. Season each piece lightly with salt and pepper. Lightly oil the surface of the grill, and place the chicken on the grill. Grill each piece about 2 minutes on each side, until cooked through. Remove and set aside to in a warm place.

2. In a medium saucepan, heat the oil over medium heat until warmed. Add the garlic and cook, stirring constantly, until the garlic just begins to color, about 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from the heat.

3. Add the walnuts, pomegranate molasses and brown sugar and stir to combine. If the mixture is too thick, add just enough chicken broth until thin enough to stir.

4. Return the pan to medium heat. Heat the mixture, stirring in additional chicken broth just a little at a time, until the mixture has a sauce-like consistency (it will be thick but pourable). The sauce should be dark. The sauce should have a nice balance of sweet and sour flavors, but it can be adjusted with a little extra brown sugar or pomegranate molasses. Pour the sauce over the chicken and serve immediately. Extra sauce can be saved for another use.

Each serving: 511 calories; 40 grams protein; 23 grams carbohydrates; 3 grams fiber; 30 grams fat; 4 grams saturated fat; 94 mg. cholesterol; 221 mg. sodium.

The Curious Palate’s chicken salad

Total time: 45 minutes, plus roasting and cooling time for the chicken

Servings: 6 to 8

Note: Adapted from the Curious Palate in Mar Vista. The restaurant uses smaller chickens (Rocky Jr. brand); we tested with a larger roasting chicken and assembled the salad with canned roasted tomatoes.

Roast chicken

1 (5- to 5½-pound) roasting chicken

Salt

1/2 apple

1/2 lemon

A few sprigs thyme

1 garlic clove

2 bay leaves

5 black peppercorns

1. Heat the oven to 375 degrees.

2. Season the chicken with 1 teaspoon salt, seasoning the inside and outside. Stuff the chicken with the apple, lemon, thyme, garlic, bay leaves and black peppercorns.

3. Truss the chicken and place it on a rack in a roasting pan. Roast the chicken until a thermometer inserted reaches 170 degrees, 1 to 1½ hours. Remove and set aside until cool enough to handle.

4. Peel the skin from the chicken and shred the meat. Cover and refrigerate until needed. The chicken can be made up to 2 days ahead.

Aioli

1 egg yolk

1 small clove garlic, minced

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

3/4 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 cup canola oil

In a food processor or blender, combine the yolk, garlic, black pepper, salt and lemon juice. With the motor running, drizzle in the oil to form the aioli. This makes about 1 cup aioli, more than is needed for the remainder of the recipe; the aioli will keep, covered and refrigerated, up to 3 days.

Pesto

1/2 cup chopped arugula

1/2 cup chopped basil

1/4 cup toasted almonds

Juice of 1 lemon

1/4 cup olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

In a food processor, combine the arugula, basil, almonds and lemon juice. Pulse to purée the ingredients. With the motor running, drizzle in the olive oil to form the pesto. This makes about one-half cup pesto, more than is needed for the remainder of the recipe; the pesto will keep for up to 2 days, covered and refrigerated.

Chicken salad assembly

Shredded roast chicken meat

1/2 cup aioli, more if desired

1/4 cup pesto, more if desired

1/4 cup chopped roasted tomatoes

1/4 cup chopped green onion

Salt and pepper, if desired

2 tablespoons sliced, roasted almonds

1/4 cup dried cranberries

In a large bowl, toss the chicken meat with the aioli and pesto to coat. Stir in the tomatoes and green onion. Taste and adjust the aioli and pesto, and season to taste. Garnish the salad with the roasted almonds and cranberries before serving. This makes about 1½ quarts salad, which will keep for up to 2 days, covered and refrigerated.

Each of 8 servings: 307 calories; 37 grams protein; 5 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram fiber; 15 grams fat; 3 grams saturated fat; 118 mg cholesterol; 3 grams sugar; 508 mg sodium.

ALSO:

19 sandwich recipes!

99 easy dinner recipe ideas

Easy dinner recipes: Chicken, chicken and more chicken