“Chicken-Again?” Wraps

Growing up, true to the cliche, you’d find my sister, my twin brother, and me whining “chicken again?” as soon as my mom walked in the door after work and unpacked her two pounds of shrink-wrapped breasts from the Grand Union bag. Dinner: A Love Story readers know all about Grandma Jody’s classic breaded cutlets, but my mother’s poultry repertoire ran deeper than that. There were her roasted game hens; her baked pieces dredged in flour and Parm then finished with lemon and a drizzle of cream; her “hot chicken sandwiches,” white meat slices laid on thick cut bread and smothered with gravy; her chicken pot pie…oh wait, maybe that was from Stouffer’s repertoire?

Anyway. Wouldn’t you think, based on the way I moaned and groaned about all this, that things in my house would be a little different?

Apparently not. Apparently, along with my mother’s inability to sit still and her affinity for minuscule portions, I also inherited whatever gene it is that sets “chicken” as the default mode for dinner. (Based on how many of you guys out there click on the Chicken category over there in the side rail, I know I’m not alone.) And as if that’s not enough, lately I’ve been into making extra, so we can build the girls’ school lunches on whatever’s left over — just one extra breast stretches into two basic wraps like the ones you see above. Phoebe likes hers with a smear of mustard, Abby prefers mayo. They both get a leaf or two from the CSA bag, tomatoes if we have them, salt, and a few grinds of pepper. I love a dinner that pays off in lunch dividends. No complaining here.

Archive Dig! A Few Chicken Dinners to mix things up (Clockwise from top left): Pretzel ChickenCurried Chicken with Apples on Pita; Indonesian Chicken Salad with Spicy Peanut Sauce; Andy’s Homemade Shake n Bake Chicken (speaking of the 80s)

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12 Comments

Bearsmama

Love your website, Jenny. And I have all of your cookbooks–including your Cookie one!:)

I was super excited to try your Easy Vanilla Pudding recipe. However, after doubling the recipe, and stirring over low heat for over 25 minutes, my pudding never set. The wooden spoon used for stirring would come out of the pot with a few pudding-like pieces stuck to it, but basically, 99.9% of the mixture stayed liquid. Even after chilling in fridge overnight. Any idea what I did wrong? I’d love to try it again, but not before I figure out what went wrong.

Thanks in advance & have a great day!
Beth

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Awads

My week: pork tenderloin with mustardy apples and onions; royal salmon with grain salad; leftover turkey meatballs on baguette; shake ‘n’ bake CHICKEN!! chicken is always in style.

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Nicole

Hi Jenny,

same here, I am always hoping for leftover chicken for my own lunch – or let’s say, I making sure there is some! Which, incidentally, is exactly what we are doing tonight in trying your Asian-ish slaw with chicken, though not poached in Mirin & soy but sort of Korean bbq-ed. Looking forward to dinner already… and another winner (did I tell you how much we looove the Bourbon pork tenderloin?)
N.

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Jenny

Hi Nicole. I’m so sorry about that. I’m not sure what to tell you. You remembered the cornstarch right? The omission of that is the only thing I can think of that would prevent it from thickening.

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A Life From Scratch

At times when I meal plan I see that I literally pick 5 chicken dishes in a row. Totally have to make an effort to think outside the chicken box! We just can’t seem to get sick of it 🙂

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Nicole

Hi Jenny,

thanks for answering, just to clarify: nothing wrong with your chicken poaching recipe! But rebel me, I replaced it from the get-go with my recipe since I rather wanted something spicy & crispy & pan-fried instead of poached (I am shying away from Mirin-anything but sushi rice for a while since I ruined a great piece of salmon with the Nobu-Mirin-treatment). Your salad is fantastic, absolutely yummy: we have just finished the whole bowl. I’ll put a picture up on my flickr site, if you are interested. N.

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Nicole

Ups, another comment: I think you got us mixed up & I am waffeling on about the chicken that has nothing to do with cornstarch – hilarious.

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Bearsmama

Jenny-

Thanks so much for the reply.:) Yep, I remembered the cornstarch. In fact, because I doubled the recipe, there was lots of cornstarch in my pudding (I think 8tbsps!)

I will try again soon. And thank you again for your great cookbooks AND the website. I look forward to blog updates every week.
🙂

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mm

My kids were OK with leftovers for lunch. I used to make a couple of extra portions of whatever was for dinner, and put in their lunch boxes the next day. Roasted or grilled meat or fish and stir fried or steamed veg, atop dressed noodles, pasta, barley or vinegared sushi rice! Meat and veg, nothing fancy, but they loved it, and it would fill them up so they didn’t arrive home starving.

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elmbs

Hi Jenny, love your terrific website! I made your pudding las night, and put some in lunches today. I got texts from school that it was “the bomb”! Thanks for that small moment of teenager love 🙂

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Clementine Buttercup

Chicken wraps have become the lunch request of the month for my very picky littlie. She likes the chicken with some cheese, avocado and some sour cream. Her own combination and so very tasty! I’m thrilled!

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