Odd Dotty Dollymaker

That's My King!

Have you seen this? I love it.

Peak at Polly

I have finally put the finishing touches on one of four dollies that I plan to put on the shelves of my shop. I apologize for the emptiness of it at the moment. But, I am working on it!

Here is a sneak peak. I call her Polly.

This one's for you, Molly.

I don't think I have ever posted about a food item before. At least not here. I have, however, made references to what I eat or when I eat on my facebook. Because, you know, the people. They want to know! I'm pretty exciting that way. Anyway, I made such a reference last night and my good friend, Molly, asked me to post the recipe here. Which I am about to attempt to do. It's not going to be a real specific recipe just a generalization because it was something that I literally pulled out of nowhere. I just pretty much used what I had on hand, which I have to say is quite a feat for me! Seriously. Because I am still fairly new to this whole art of cooking thing.

Let me give you a little background before moving on. It all started in the kitchen of my childhood home. Ahhh, I remember those days. My mom would get ready to prepare a feast, and I would eagerly enter the kitchen and ask to help.  "Of course" she would respond, "you can help by getting out of the kitchen!" I'm sure she meant this lovingly. Fast forward to my early days of marriage. Tired of pasta, and frozen meals, I actually went out on a limb and made tacos one night! I used the seasoning packet and everything all by myself! I was so proud, and the husband and I felt so gourmet. And it pretty much stayed as gourmet as that for awhile. Every once in a while I would pull out a cookbook and actually try a real meal, but the whole cooking thing still wasn't clicking. It didn't help that when I would ask about a recipe from my mom's kitchen she would say things like, "add some flour."

"How much flour?" I would probe.

"Some" was her reply.

"Ooookay. So how long do I cook it for?"

"Until it's done."

See, now I understand that. Now I understand that cooking is an art, and that after a while you just get the feel for things like "some flour" and cooking "until it's done". But then? It just threw me deeper into the pit of eating unhealthy, already prepared, frozen meals. And then I had the audacity to wonder how on earth I was starting to gain weight after turning 30 and having two kids, and why it wasn't coming off from running half a mile every day like it used to. We're talking years and years of eating mainly carbs here. Almost no protein and hardly any fruits or veggies. It all sounds so simple now, but I was really that clueless. And I know I am not alone! Then, a couple of years ago I was introduced to the Eat Clean Diet by Tosca Reno. Have you heard of clean eating? I hadn't! But, seriously, it completely changed the way I looked at food. I slowly, and I do really mean slowly, started to understand the way foods work together, and how important things like lean proteins and fruits and veggies are. Why am I telling you all of this? Because all of this really does lead up to last night!

I have secretly always wanted to be able to just throw things together and make yummy healthy meals...but I always felt stuck. And food still holds an intimidation factor over me. So, if I'm not following a recipe I still feel like I can't make a meal most of the time, even if I know we have ingredients in the cupboard and fridge or freezer that somebody else would be able to make something with. And, last night wasn't looking that great as I didn't have anything set on the menu and, in my desperation, was beginning to think that maybe cereal was a good option for dinner. But! Then I remembered we had frozen chicken breasts, and at that point the husband was still in Canada, which meant I could actually use them. (He's allergic to chicken, so I don't get a chance to eat it very often) I found that actually getting off my butt and going through my kitchen to see what I had made a huge difference in determining what to make. You know, instead of chatting with my friends on facebook about how I don't have anything to make for dinner. And, now, having a couple of years under my belt of following some really yummy and clean recipes, I had an idea of what and what not to do. What combinations of flavors I like and what my family likes. This is what I came up with. It is what I would describe as a Chicken Bruschetta;

 

Sorry it's not the best picture, but I think you get the idea. Here is the gist of what the recipe is...please forgive the vague measurements, I was literally throwing this together last night and hoping for the best.

First I preheated the oven to 400F, then I threw three huge...they really were huge, like unnaturally huge, freakish almost, but yours don't have to be...boneless, skinless chicken breasts into a casserole dish. Chop up several cloves of garlic...the more the better in my opinion, and spread over chicken. Add about a tsp. of dried basil and oregano. Salt and pepper to taste. Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil. Add a 14oz. can of diced tomatoes, juice and all. Top with a handful of pitted kalamata olives. Pop into the oven, uncovered and turn the heat down to 350F (I'm not sure why I did this, but I'm just telling you exactly what my process was), and bake for 30-45 minutes...until it's done.

Serve with a yummy salad, and enjoy!!

I was so proud of myself for this one, and I am excited to eat the leftovers for lunch today! This was a pretty big milestone for me. So, there you go, Molly! There's the "recipe" you asked for, and then some. If you try this, (and when I say you, I don't just mean Molly, I mean everyone who reads this) I would love to know what your results are!