Skip to main content
DinnerTop 10

Top 10 Deconstructed Dinners

By February 4, 2014November 15th, 201527 Comments

So I got this nice note from a reader the other day:

I have to tell you I did my first real deconstructed meal the other night where I was not catering to the kids. It was so easy, such an epiphany! My husband and I made Chicken Tikka Masala with browned cauliflower and frozen peas in it. Before adding the (jarred) sauce, I loaded up plates with juicy sauteed chicken chunks and browned cauliflower and added some grapes and they Gobbled. It. Up. I had hot dogs at the ready but was feeling very sad about it. So this was amazing!! Thank you! โ€” Jennie T.

Chicken Tikka Masala! That is some brave new territory, and it made me think that weโ€™ve covered the DALSย Top 10 Quick Meals,ย Top 10 Side Dishes,ย Top 10 Ways to Use a Rotisserie Chicken, and even Abbyโ€™s Top 10 Reads last summer โ€” so I think itโ€™s high time we rounded up our favorite Deconstructed Dinners for the family table. Break it down now:

1.ย Tortilla Soup (Which also has a nice definition of Deconstructed Dinner for those of you completely in the dark here)

2. Chinese Chicken and Broccoliย (like Jennie T., just save a few of the unsauced chicken chunks for kids who might object to the hoisin)

3. Chili-Rubbed Chicken with Mexican Salad, shown aboveย (related: Burrito Bowl)

4. ย Steakhouse Steak Salad with (or without!) Horseradish Dressing

5. Fish in Parchment Paper (Part 1 and Part 2) to be filed under โ€œOldie but Goodie.โ€

6. Orrechiette with Sausage and Broccoliย (the classic)

7. Kale Cobb Saladย (hold the Easter egg dye)

8. Chicken Orzo Soup, shown above, page 290 Dinner: A Love Storyย  (When Abby was a soup-o-thrope, I used to pluck the tender shredded chicken from this and lightly pat it with a paper towel before serving it to her with lightly dried carrots and a mound of orzo. What can I say? I really wanted her to like my favorite soup.)

9. Spicy Peanut Noodles (itโ€™s just โ€œplain pasta with a side of crispy snow peasโ€ to the kids if you serve the peanut sauce on the side), page 261 Dinner: A Love Story

10. Quinoa with Spinach, Egg, & Sriracha (No matter how much I deconstruct and disguise this, my kids will not touch, but you might have better luck.)

Donโ€™t see your favorite? What is it?

27 Comments

  • Elizabeth batte says:

    Jenny,

    I have followed you for years and years, and never understood these deconstructed meals until I had picky eaters of my own. Reading through DALS cookbook & The Dinner Plan help me give my kids healthy meals that I actually want to eat too! I pre-ordered The Weekday Vegetarians long ago and cannot WAIT to get it! I hope I can deconstruct a few meals for my kids with those recipes, too. ๐Ÿ™‚ Just wanted to say Iโ€™m a big fan!

Leave a Reply

What is 13 + 14 ?
Please leave these two fields as-is:
IMPORTANT! To be able to proceed, you need to solve the following simple math (so we know that you are a human) :-)