Getting Saucy

Choose your sauce and oven bake chicken leg quarters in a casserole dish. Add diced tomatoes and tomato sauce, cheese and Italian seasonings for a zesty dish served over rice. Cover the chicken leg quarters with cream of mushroom soup and serve them over egg noodles for a hearty meal. Barbecued chicken is a good dinner choice, but surprise your diners with a pulled-chicken sandwich on a big roll. Bake the chicken leg quarters without sauce and remove the skin when they are done. De-bone the chicken and return the shredded meat to the casserole dish, stir in barbeque sauce and bake for a little longer. Serve with a leafy salad topped with sliced tomatoes.

Take It Slow

Use a slow cooker if you want falling-off-the-bone chicken for soup or any combination of ingredients you can stir with a big spoon. Separate the leg and thigh for a better fit in the pot. Add your choice of vegetables, and make dumplings from scratch or from uncooked canned biscuits. If you fancy a meal such as a gumbo, add slices of polish sausage or turkey kielbasa. Throw in onions, celery, green pepper and your favorite seasonings. Use a thickener, such as flour or cubed white potatoes if you want a more hearty soup or stew.

Grilling Goodness

If you want those black grill lines on your chicken leg quarters, fire up the grill. Grilling is showing-off time, so soak the chicken in a zesty or sweet-and-sour marinade before grilling. Try teriyaki sauce or your own creation made with hot sauce. You might choose to keep it simple with nothing more than a little sea salt, ground black pepper and the smoke from briquettes for flavor. Whatever your choice, turn the chicken over to get those grill lines and make sure the meat is thoroughly cooked. Throw on the grill some corn on the cob, asparagus or sweet potato wedges to add color to the plate.

Oven-Fried Magic

Oven-fried chicken offer the promise of crispy skin without immersion in oil. Create your own breadcrumb and buttermilk mixture to coat the chicken leg quarters before baking. Add your choice of ingredients to the mixture, such as mustard, Parmesan cheese and a little olive oil. Thyme and paprika enhances the flavor. Some cooks have oven-fried success with double dredging, which involves rolling the chicken in flour and dragging it through a liquid mixture before rolling it in flour again. Try browning egg-and-coconut-encrusted chicken leg quarters in a stove-top pan, then cook them in the oven until they are done.