By Saturday morning in the Holt household we are pretty much out of food. I like it that way.
Saturday mornings I get up, work out, come home, make coffee then make THE LISTS.
The shopping list.
Don't judge my handwriting. Lifelong malady.
and the week's menu
Translation:
Sunday - Chicken marbella, cous cous and veggies
Monday - Shrimp & spinach soup
Tuesday - Spaghetti wtih meat sauce and salad
Wednesday - burritos
Thursday - tuna noodle casserole.
The weekly menu decision is completely capricious. I peruse recipe books, my beloved blue binder, and my go-to notebook from my neighbor Maura that contains all of the above scraps of paper from the last couple years.
Then I hit the Jewel. This week's bonus was fresh-lime margarita tastings, with a complimentary Cointreau shaker. This is precisely how shopping should be done, with a margarita in hand.
Anyway, where was I? I never, ever cook on Friday or Saturday, but on Sunday I am loaded for bear and this week I prepped three meals. It was a glorious 60 degrees, my kitchen was sunny, I had music on - it was good.
I switched up the order and made Shrimp and Spinach soup with Udon noodles on Sunday.
The whole thing took 10 minutes and it was a delicious umami explosion of yumminess.
it was a pretty light meal, however, so I uncharacteristically made dessert. I did! Strawberry Shortcakes. Stupidly easy and yummy.
Before I cranked out the soup, however, I got the next night's chicken prepped. .
It is SO GOOD and I forgot how delicious and easy this recipe is
in a bowl mix
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1/4 cup red-wine vinegar
- 1/2 cup pitted prunes
- 1/4 cup pitted Spanish green olives
- 1/4 cup capers with a bit of juice
- 3 bay leaves
- 1/2 head of garlic, peeled and finely pureed
- 1/8 cup dried oregano
- Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
The recipe calls for 2 cut-up chickens, I used 4 large bone-in breasts
Isn't this tool fabulous? My sister in law Sue gave it to me - props up your ziploc.
Place the chicken in a shallow baking dish or a ziploc and pour the marinade over. Let sit overnight.
Assemble chicken in a 9x13, spoon marinade over evenly and add
1/4 cup brown sugar and
1/2 cup white wine.
Cook at 350 until juice runs clear (breasts took about 45 minutes)
I served it over cous cous with a spinach salad on the side.
and last but not least, I whipped up a quick batch of my favorite tomato sauce and let that simmer for hours. Tonight's dinner is therefore done and I am therefore ecstatic.
Have a great week!
