"Fast Food" for us

Sometimes when I come home from work, kiss the baby and Karin, play for a little while, and then start to think about dinner...sometimes I don't have the energy for a more elaborate supper. Sometimes, I just want it to be easier.

This is my "cheating" type dinner.

And I'll be honest with you - it is so easy, I am often embarrassed when it comes out like it did the other night. So good I want somehow get my head in the pan afterwards.

I have a supply of chicken breast fillets in the freezer, just for occasions like this.

For this specific dinner, I took two cloves of elephant garlic, slivered them, and put them in a pan with some olive oil. Right when they started to lightly brown, I squeezed in about a tablespoon of anchovy paste. I stirred it in, and then poured in a large can of Italian tomatoes. While that was starting to warm, I took a couple of handfuls of country-style olives, and rough chopped them, and tossed them in as well. On top of that, I put 6 chicken breast fillets in, and covered it, turned it to low, and left the room.

This is the type of dinner that requires almost no work after that. I try to remember to go in and flip the chicken, move them from the bottom to the top, etc, but even if you don't, it is still going to taste good.

Thursday I didn't have any side to go with it, but usually a cous cous, or rice or even fresh pasta is a great accompaniment.

All we had was a fresh baguette, so I sliced them on the bias to get more surface area, and put three on the plate, with chicken on top, and then juices and olive/tomato mixture on top of that.

I realize that this is just a form of braising, but it is such a life-saver for us - it allows us to eat well when we need "fast food." Instead of a box of "who knows what" we can make dinner while we catching up on our days.

It might not be pretty, but the chicken is juicy, the flavors are bright, and the cleanup is minimal.