Mediterranean Orzo with tomatoes

This dish was delicious, but to be honest I don't remember much else. I had added this recipe as a draft post 4 months ago and only decided to resurrect it now. That is store bought calamari on the plate, just ignore that.

Me: This was at least 8/10 I think
SO: 8/10
SSO: n/a

Roasted Lemon Basil Chicken

I don't remember much about this recipe, it was a month ago that I made this. It is one of those fantastic Sunday dinner meals though so I had to write this down.  We are starting to enforce the eating at the actual dining room table on Sunday evening. The rest of the week it is really easy to eat on the couch in front of the t.v.  We borrowed all 6 seasons of "The Big Bang Theory", and have been methodically going through it. Not terribly conducive to family talk and bonding, but at least we're sitting together. Nice to unwind after a stressful day.  Anyway, what could be easier than potatoes and chicken in a roaster.  I think we may have thrown in some frozen corn in the microwave at the last minute, since I realized the only veggie making an appearance was the cherry tomatoes.

Tossing the potatoes with basil-lemon puree

Can't say enough about these all-in-one easy dishes. It's nice to get complicated and fancy once in a while, but "easy" means that we'll end up with some quality food rather than something processed. Came out looking a bit strange with the roasted basil on top, but it tastes better than it looks.  And with the size of chicken breasts these days, three were enough for the 3 of us PLUS leftover for a lunch for me the next day.

Roasted Lemon Basil Chicken

Next time: maybe throw more veggies in there, and would season the chicken a bit more

Me: 8/10
SO: 8/10
SSO: 5/10

Avocado Chicken

"Honey, I'm home."  "Does it smell good in here?"  Sniff, sniff.  "Wow, smells awesome! What's for supper?"  Turns out it was Avocado Chicken baking.  I never liked avocado when I was younger, thought it was just a mushy green gross veggie. Or is it a fruit?  How about a large berry with a single seed?  Little did I know how good it was for you - lots of fibre, higher in potassium than bananas, lots of "good" fat, and high in vitamins B and E. Phew! In any case, delicious on salads, burgers, just about anything, including chicken.

Avocado Chicken with fresh basil, coconut rice
and a simple salad.

In this case, the gist of the recipe is a chicken breast pounded flat, with avocado and fresh basil. SO sided this with coconut rice and a simple salad. I love this dish because you get to pound with the kitchen mallet. That's just fun.

Next time: maybe some hot sauce

Me: 8/10
SO: 8/10
SSO: 8/10, although we scraped off the avocado

Pasta with Shrimp, Feta, and Basil

We seem to be doing a lot of pasta lately.  But then again this blog is more about what we eat on a daily basis, and not so much about the special, planned-out exercises you might do on a weekend.  I have done a few themed small-plate dinners though, which I'll talk about another time. In any case, this is one of our favourite dishes - right up there in the top 10, if not top 5.  So easy to make, and great for leftovers as well.  This may sound crazy, but when I take it to work the next day I would put the pasta and shrimp in a tupperware, and the feta, basil, and lemon in a separate tupperware. Microwaving the whole lot ruins the fresh basil and the feta melts into gloop.

Spaghetti with Shrimp, Feta, and Basil. The lemon
garnish is not optional!

I'm not sure when we started making this or where we got it from. As usual, it likely was based on something found via web search and then modified for what ingredients we happened to have. I've seen similar recipes after a quick search, although some seem to add what looks to be random spices to differentiate.  I saw one that was loaded with dried oregano, dried basil, and garlic powder.  Seriously?  Gotta draw the line there.  This one really keeps it simple, focusing on just a few flavours that meld well together.

There are two absolute "must do" things with this dish, otherwise you might as well not bother. First, fresh basil leaves. We get these little basil plants from the supermarket for $2.99. That is the same price as a small plastic container of leaves, but it produces more and lasts longer. No brainer. The second must is the lemon wedge. The spritz of lemon just somehow ties it together. You could arguably substitute goat cheese, and pretty much any pasta really, but the lemon and basil just have to be in there. We only had boxed spaghetti on hand, but fresh linguine or fettuccine would be great. A bit of freshly ground pepper and you're good to go. Forget the tomatoes, never mind the garlic (well, maybe on that), chuck the salt (feta has you covered there), and certainly no parmesan.

Next Time: fresh pasta would be better

Me: 10/10
SO: 10/10
SSO: n/a, but would guess 3/10