Domesticity Continues

I've been inspired by some of my friends' blog posts to post some of my favorite go-to recipes that are both easy and quite tasty!

First, a little set up.  While I was in Indiana visiting my aunt (see post here), she asked what I was making Erik for his arrival home.  My first inclination was to tell my elderly aunt that Erik and I have a "modern marriage" where I don't necessarily cook him dinner every night.  I thought better about it 1) because she's old and that's a difficult concept to grasp for her generation and 2) it wasn't a bad idea.  In fact, the more I thought about it the better it seemed.  Erik got on his flight at midnight Arizona time and arrived at Chicago O'Hare at 4:30am then got on a train to come down here arriving Monday morning at 11am.  No real sleep.  Not to mention the fact that he was out of town for a week and so not getting home cooked meals.  So, what would be nice to come home to? Freshly cooked meals that he could take to work with him since he had to get straight to work (he was home for like 45 minutes before going into work until after 10pm).

Now, for the recipes.  The first is my go-to chicken recipe.  It's a one-dish wonder that incorporates the basic components of a good meal: protein, veggies, and a carb. :)

Pan-Roasted Chicken with Lemon-Garlic Green Beans

It's from one of my favorite magazines -- Real Simple.  It's super easy and one of Erik's favorite dishes that I make.  I make it with boneless, skinless chicken breasts instead of in-the-bone chicken and just reduce the cooking time.  I also double the lemon (but that's 'cause I'm a sucker for lemony-goodness).  My favorite thing: It has very few ingredients which makes it über simple (hence, real simple).

The second thing I made (because I always have to cook in bulk), was a new recipe that I hadn't tried before (also from Real Simple).

Chicken Sautéed with Apples

This one was even easier than my old stand-by.  It will definitely be added to my go-to recipe repertoire.  One thing to note: This isn't as substantial as the other meal and needs a side to be made with it.  Fortunately, I had couscous in the pantry - problem solved!

Third, I made Banana Bread.  Erik tends to buy bananas and then not eat them in time before they pass his optimum ripeness preference.  Here is the recipe courtesy of Silver Palate Cookbook with some of my own "improvements"**:

Banana Bread

1 stick unsalted butter, at room temp.

3/4 cup granulated sugar

2 eggs

1 cup unbleached, all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 cup whole wheat flour

3 large ripe bananas, mashed

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 cup shelled walnuts, coarsely chopped

1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate morsels (my addition!).

1. Preheat over to 350º. (Grease bread pan)

2. Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.  Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.

3. Sift all-purpose flour, baking soda and salt together, stir in whole wheat flour and add to creamed mixture, mixing well.

4. Fold in mashed bananas, vanilla, and walnuts (and chocolate chips!).

5. Pour mixture into the prepared pan.  Bank for 50-60 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean.  Cool in pan for 10 minutes, then on rack.

** Side note: I did it a little different this time around.  I made muffins instead of bread.  It seemed so simple.  It was much more convenient (portable banana bread, what?).  I baked it in 2 muffin pans (it made about 16 muffins) for 30 minutes instead of the 50-60 above.  I was a success, and I felt very proud about "going rogue" on my recipe!

So... 3 hours later, I started questioning my sanity.  I mean, I'm all about the "go big or go home" mentality but applying it to all aspects of life can be a bit intense.  Case in point: My cleaning escapades while E was out of town and the above.  I also started worrying about what it will be like after Erik and I have kids.  I don't know of any family where they have a big cook-off on Sundays for the whole week.  This is our style -- we like to do it all at once and then have nice home-cooked meals during the week when we are too busy to cook (and get home too late).  We also bring our lunch to work every day and so don't eat out very much if at all.  We'll have to wait oh . . . 5 years hence . . . to figure out how that'll work.

My next goal: To do what this blogger did.

At any rate, Erik was very very excited about the food I made! And not just because he was hungry . . . maybe . . .