Improv Dinner

I've never been very good at making meals from memory, or better yet, just throwing some things together. Usually following recipes and staying within my comfort zone is the norm, but last night was a big step for this young chef. I was inspired after reading a blog about making healthy and affordable meals. The woman spoke a lot about using what's in your pantry or fridge to make meals that end up costing less than if you had to buy everything from the store.

I spent a couple of minutes warming up the inside of our refrigerator while looking for somewhere to start. Finally I decided to find a use for the jar of kalamata olives in the door. They were the ingredient we had at home, and I was afraid they might go bad before we ate them all. I also wanted to make a fairly healthy dinner, so I bought some tasty fresh vegetables,whole wheat pasta, and a few other things with a Greek theme in mind. On top of that, I purchased some cheap chicken cutlets, and some of them ended up in the freezer for another possible impromptu dinner. (Yay for saving money!) I also cooked enough chicken to use some in stir fry later this week. Double whammy. Now all I hoped was that dinner would turn out edible and filling. Sometimes I forget that Nate is twice my size and always eats more food than I plan. I was pretty sure this mix of vegetables and chicken served over pasta with a side of bread would do.

** I just love the color! **

After frying some chicken, throwing some things (I love how informal that sounds) in a saute pan, boiling some whole wheat pasta, and mixing it all up and topping with feta cheese... we had a pretty delicious meal! Cooking seems more fun when you're not following a recipe step by step. I think I may have channeled a little Julia Child minus the French food.

** sorry this is partially eaten... we dove in, and then I remembered to take a photo **

With that said, I'm glad that experimenting with food ended in an edible and enjoyable meal. We probably would have force fed ourselves anyways. Thank goodness we ended up with a healthy meal and a new favorite!