A Weeknight Dinner...

Hi, all!  Today I have a special treat for you... my sister Meredith is going to write a guest post!  Meredith lives in Columbia, SC and writes a blog called The Family Jewell.  So after you read her post, be sure to head over and check out her blog!

I was so excited to be asked to “guest post” on my sister’s blog Confessions of a Former Couch Potato.  I’ve only been blogging since early November but she had faith in my ability to create something (hopefully) somewhat interesting, but if not, then fun.  Let me first preface this post by telling you I’m not a hot chef in the kitchen.  In fact (and to be honest) I think I cook about as much as my husband does, and well, he actually does cook a good bit, so that’s a good thing I hope.  Either way, I’m no Betty Crocker or Ina Garten, but I can hold my own on occasion and hope you’ll enjoy some photos and comments on tonight’s Weeknight Dinner.

Today was a normal day for me (although around the southeast this week it’s been a strange week full of snow, ice, cancelled school, and more cancelled school).  I went to work and then hit the gym for my usual Wednesday evening yoga class.  I have grown to love yoga the more and more that I go and believe it really does have some very positive benefits including strength and core building.  When I got home I knew I was going to have to make dinner because we didn’t need another night of being slack and unhealthy eating (the previous two nights were frozen lasagna and take out).  I read about the “Eat In Month” Challenge that The Chic Life puts on and was going to try my best to have us abide by that rule this month, however we haven’t quite succeeded, but are trying our best (on normal weeks) to eat in as much as possible…and with that, generally making healthy meals.

So on with the dinner…tonight I decided that since I hadn’t prepped ahead of time or marinated the chicken we bought the other day I would just use Publix brand Zesty Italian and bake the chicken in the oven…simple and pretty healthy. 

 

chicken marinating (and cooking) in Zesty Italian



I also had a bag of red potatoes so I decided to do a simple combo of chopped potatoes with EVOO, salt, pepper, garlic powder (a staple) and dried rosemary…delicious!

 

red potatoes with EVOO & seasonings

I knew we needed something green so I made green beans (something simple yet healthy) and as if that wasn’t enough, I decided to pull out our new “How to Cook Everything” cookbook that was a Christmas gift from friends and found one more side dish (Sautéed Apples).



I captured the butter for the sauteed apples before it melted (without the flash)

 

brown sugar and cinnamon for the sauteed apples



green beans & apples cooking side-by-side



possibly my favorite part of the meal (deliciously sweet)



Although I know you’re probably thinking by now this meal doesn’t seem very complicated or original, but it wasn’t meant to be.  It’s merely to show that by having a few basic items in your house during the week (fresh and/or frozen) you can still pull together a tasty and healthy meal…and best of all, have leftovers!!



no caption needed   :)



So after all the prep work was done and each item cooked to al dente, I was actually surprised with myself that all came out at the exact same time and piping hot.  I’m not sure these pictures really give it justice, but hearing my husband compliment me in saying “I’m really proud of you, this is a really good meal” was music to my ears…and voila!  Dinner is served…



dinner is served...



Mark Bittman's "How to Cook Everything"



And to end on a sweet note since I didn’t include dessert tonight, I thought I’d share a photo of my little kitchen helper…or little beggar, if you will.



Zoe

Happy Cooking!

xo, Meredith (The Family Jewell)