While I was on vacation last week, the last thing I wanted to think about was cooking, or cleaning, for that matter. That’s right, the total and sheer laziness kicked in and it took every ounce of effort to motivate myself to lift a finger! So although the idea of dining out every day seemed perfect, I had to be realistic. Eating out every day for a week is not only hard on the wallet but hard on the waistline. Don’t get me wrong, I did indulge a little, or maybe more than a little, but I made some real effort to prepare healthier meals that wouldn’t cut into my vacation time either. Here’s how I did it.
I stocked up on whole chickens, three of them for that matter because they had a great deal on at the grocery store! I brined one chicken in a solution of ½ cup of kosher salt, the juice of one lemon, some coriander, cumin, cayenne, paprika, onion powder and chilli powder and soaked it for several hours. I then drained the liquid and placed the chicken on the rotisserie rack that comes with my toaster oven and cooked it to perfection!
Between my husband and me, we polished off that chicken in two days! We used it to make sandwiches using large tortilla wraps, fresh ripe avocadoes, diced tomatoes and mayonnaise. They really hit the spot and took little to no time to prepare. I also bought a ready-made salad and topped it with some sliced up chicken and served it with my favourite salad dressing.
When we were done with that chicken, I made yet another rotisserie chicken (have I mentioned that they are delicious?). That one we enjoyed hot off the rotisserie just like that and the rest was used the next day to make chicken nachos. These were quick to prepare by using whole grain store bought tortilla chips and pre-grated cheese.
Of course, chicken wasn’t the only thing we feasted on; we made sure to eat plenty of fruits and vegetables like watermelon and tomatoes, which are both in season right now!
So next time you’re on vacation, take some of my tips on saving some much needed vacation time by cutting down on your cooking time.
Need some more ideas for fast and easy meals to prepare? Check these out.
Ground chicken and salsa sloppy joes
Avocado, beet and chicken tostadas
Oh, and if you’re wondering what I did with the third chicken, it’s in my freezer!
