There are so many great things you can do with chicken. You can actually have chicken dishes up to three times per week, and your family will not even notice, because you will be using different easy chicken recipes all the time.
If you start with the side of a chicken, or perhaps several breasts or thighs, you can boil these parts of the chicken, adding some vegetable chunks and a bit of spice to them. When they are almost completely cooked, just add rice to the water, and when the rice is done, you have a chicken and rice meal that is healthy and that your family will love. The spices to add would be chopped onions, garlic, celery, carrots, and perhaps some dried oregano, parsley, thyme and basil.
For a Caribbean style recipe, Jamaican jerk is wonderful on chicken. Just cook the chicken in a skillet with oil until it is almost completely done, then add chopped garlic and onion, bell pepper, and maybe a chili pepper for that additional zing. Kidney or black beans without the juice should be added, along with some tomato sauce. Then come the spices, which are cumin, coriander, and Jamaican jerk. Serve this chicken on top of some white rice, and your guests will all be asking for the recipe.
If you like an oriental twist, there are packets at the supermarket that will make your chicken come alive and taste very authentic Chinese. These are simple to make, and you should try them. Kung pao chicken is one, and sweet and sour is another, for a real change of pace.
The sweet and sour packet will require onions, bell peppers, and pineapple chunks, and the results are delicious. And the companies that produce these little packets make Chinese cooking simple.
For parties and get togethers, chicken wings always tend to please. You can do a honey and mustard mix on them, or barbecue sauce, or the hot, spicy buffalo wing mix. A variety of these is wonderful, and you can serve them with macaroni or potato salad, or even just potato chips. The barbecue sauce covered ones go well with pork and beans.
For endless delicious variations of so many choices for chicken, a chicken cookbook will have you experimenting for years to come. Prepare it as your family likes it, and stick to the favorites. As you make them more than once, they will become routine and no bother at all, serving different easy chicken recipes every week.
