A Big Hit {or Why I Created a Fabulous Chicken Dinner On The Fly}
January 12, 2010 by Christine - From Dates to Diapers
Filed under recipe
It was 5:30 this evening and Ray called me from work. There was a huge promotion going on at The Old Spaghetti Factory and we could save 41% on all of their classic pasta dishes in celebration of their 41st anniversary – Happy birthday to The Spaghetti Factory! Well, it sounded like a great deal to me, so Ray checked in to see how long it would take for a table. An hour and a half was no good, so we decided to eat in.
I sorta panicked. I really do not like to cook. I love to bake and could bake all day, but cooking is another story. Not sure why this is, especially since my Mom is a fabulous cook and she taught me how to cook, but nonetheless I do not like it. My poor husband.
Anyway, I couldn’t find any recipes which could help me create something palatable with what I could find in my fridge and pantry. And I couldn’t get a hold of my whiz-of-a-cook-friend, Lori. So I did my best.
Check it out!
I sauteed some chicken in Olive Oil, then added some minced garlic and Italian seasoning. I decided to throw in some artichoke hearts – Ray’s favorite – but thought it was missing something, so I added some diced tomatoes. I topped it with some Parmigiano-Reggiano, and voila – a chicken dinner everyone loved!
The only complaint was that I should have made some pasta, especially since I burned my rice, but my last-minute scramble proved to be a huge success. The best art was that I found all of the ingredients with just a quick sweep through my fridge and pantry.
Perhaps cooking isn’t so bad, after all!
Would you consider trying my dish?
YOU GO GIRL! It sounds delish but I have never ate artichoke hearts…
I would definitely try your dish. As far making something on the fly….hmmmm…..I don’t usually do anything new. Hamburgers are quick. I have thrown squash, zucchini, ground beef, and taters together….it was okay.
Mmmm! That sounds so yummy!! I dont think my kids would like the artichoke hearts.. But I will make it for my hubby sometime!
That sounds sooo good, I will definitely try that but substitute the diced tomatoes for some sun dried tomatoes. Humm wonder if I have all those ingredients in my pantry… nope have to go grocery shopping. Mac and cheese is a quick dinner around here, that and tacos.
)
Thanks for the idea, wish you invited us for dinner
xoxo Sara
That looks Scrummy! I made a dinner the other night in much the same way and it was the best meal ever!
Sounds great to me and easy. I like artichoke hearts like as in spinach-artichoke dip but I think my husband might be picking them out and setting them aside on his plate. That is…unless I could make them unnoticeable
We adore artichoke hearts!
MOST of my favorite meals end up developing on the fly p;) crazy pasta dishes, casserole bakes and the like
That dish is right up our alley! You go, girlie
That looks so good. Gonna have to try it.
I remember reading this, accidents are sometimes the best things to happen to dinners. YUM!
.-= kristin´s last blog ..Easter Brunch At McCormick & Schmick’s Seafood Restaurants =-.
I do that all the time but mine isn’t from lack of enjoying cooking, it’s not knowing what I’ll be in the mood for when dinnertime rolls around. The best thing I ever made up is something the girls call eggplant yum (basically the best parts of eggplant parm & baked ziti but easier!) and then something we never got around to naming and it just became that glop crap you made that time. (We all enjoy it and we all know what we’re talking about though I’d make up a name before blogging it or serving to guests.
Yours looks really good- I might add some olives and I like the pasta idea, but it sounds like foods we all like around here.