I did something on Sunday that I almost never do: I cooked a whole chicken specifically so we would have it for the week, to shred and toss into noodles, salads and quesadillas, and to give to my daughter so she could drag each piece through a little pool of ketchup (one of her passions).
People occasionally request ideas for how they can prep something on Sunday and transform it in various ways over the week. Historically this style of cooking has not been my thing. I’d rather just make a vat of something delicious and then reheat as needed, going wild with the fresh toppings, whether it’s avocado or herbs or citrus squeezes.
And yet, have you torn into poached chicken lately? (It’s so juicy.) Have you experienced the joy of seeing a Tupperware full of that chicken in your fridge and knowing you are roughly 7/10ths of the way to dinner for the entire week? I have. It’s great.
So in addition to giving you delicious recipes that have nothing to do with poultry, I’ve got a few ideas for you below that rely on precooked chicken. Buying rotisserie chicken is fine for these (you’re busy!), but here are methods for poaching a whole chicken and for cooking boneless breasts, just in case. Let me know what you think at dearemily@nytimes.com.
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Here are five dishes for the week:
CreditJenny Huang for The New York Times
1. One-Pot Pasta With Ricotta and Lemon
The working title of this new recipe was “Blake’s Pasta” because it was inspired by something my husband (that’s Blake) made for our daughter. It is macaroni and cheese, if the cheese were ricotta instead of Cheddar, and it’s creamy and carby and zingy from the lemon. As with mac and cheese, adults love it. Kids love it. Do not miss it, and throw in cooked frozen peas if you like.
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2. Tomato-Poached Fish With Chile Oil and Herbs
Sometimes, when I’m editing a recipe, I feel a sharp and urgent need to cook it that night. That’s what happened with this easy Alison Roman recipe, which is one of the most forgiving and delicious fish dishes I’ve seen in a long time. You can’t mess this up. Serve with toast, rice or tortillas (especially if you’re buying them for the quesadillas below) and a big green salad.
4. Chicken Quesadillas With Avocado-Cucumber Salsa
Quesadillas: They fill everyone with joy. I made this dish for dinner last night and that melted Monterey Jack is irresistible, and so is that avocado salsa. Of course, you could omit the chicken to make it vegetarian; add black beans to the cheese, or serve the beans on the side. We had an arugula salad dressed with lime and olive oil on the side.
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This isn’t my standard weeknight salad dressing, but it is my favorite. I make it when salad is our main event for dinner, as it was this week. I tossed the dressing, which is from Jessica Battilana’s cookbook, “Repertoire,” with handfuls of shredded chicken, red leaf lettuce, olives and onions, and had that with a good baguette shmeared with good butter.
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