Tomato and feta stuffed chicken

Meal planning 101: Do everything that is possible to do ahead of time, ahead of time. Some people may say its not worth it to them to spend an afternoon shucking, cooking, bagging, and freezing sweet corn once a year so they have a whole year's supply of the stuff at their finger tips to thaw and gobble on any time they so choose. I would wholeheartedly disagree.

 

Making my sweet corn and green beans each year seriously saves me more time and dollar signs than you would imagine in grocery shopping, cooking, and preparation each week. It's all about the little things, folks...

 

Making a dinner so husband friendly that he can literally take it from fridge to stove, is one of the best things in life. Nothing like walking in the door and having dinner almost ready to be served, with no effort from either of you that day. I usually make a few things on Sunday, get the cleanup out of the way, and the rest of the week I have to spend no time or energy on anything but throwing the plates in the dishwasher after dinner. More quality time, less annoying housework during the week, and yummy dinners in no time...how can anyone be mad at that?

 

I'm always looking for new ways to prepare chicken, as it can get pretty boring but is one of the great lean proteins we try to eat often in our hiz-ouse. I love me some feta cheese, and I thought the half can of fire roasted tomatoes would mix well with it. Mix all that up with a pinch of salt and pepper to taste and load up your dual chicken boobs. I know...I'm well aware that my infantile obsession with the word boob over breast should've stopped when I turned 30, but age is just a number, my friends! I bought thinly sliced chicken breasts so I didn't even have to pound them out, but you could butterfly them or pound them if you need them to be larger to fit more stuffing.

 

Roll them up and secure with a few toothpicks so your insides stay inside. Make sure to remember how many you use for each one, they're not fun to accidentally get in the side cheek. I always use 3 toothpicks for everything so I always know how many I'm hunting for when I eat...makes life easy like that. Sprinkle the boobs (I know, I went there again) with italian seasoning, basil, oregano, or whatever similar spices you have on hand at the momento. Grease a baking dish and put them inside, cover and throw them in the fridge until it's time for their burning death. I guess they're already dead, and it's not fun to think of eating dead things, so just forget that last part.

 

Grab a bag of sweet corn out of the freezer and place it in the fridge to thaw. When you are your Main Man or your kiddos are ready to start dinner...preheat the oven to 400 degrees and throw the chicken dish in for 30-40 minutes or until cooked through (no pink, my peeps). Empty the bag of corn into a small pot and simmer on low to warm. It's already cooked so just needs to be heated...no one like cold corn, do they?

 

Serve. Now doesn't that sound like a fun week night? Thar she blows! Dinner in a jif with so little effort, I'm trying to train my cat to do it. The opposable thumbs thing is where we get stuck...but we'll get it.

 

This chicken stayed very (ahem, I have to cover my ears to even type this word) moist. Great italian flavor, but I love me a little spice so I added a bit of crushed red pepps to my plate and it was puuuuurfect, just as if the cat had made it. OK, even I'll admit that got weird. The cat didn't really make this. Anyway, that's all for today's lesson. Next time I'll show you my crazy hoarder freezer that helps with meal planning as well...enjoy your hump day in the meantime!

I should warn you all that I shall be MIA the next few days...until next Tuesday to be exact. Main Man and I are leaving on a jet plane (and having severe anxiety about it) with some friends heading to New Orleans tomorrow for my lady friend's 30th birthday celebration (and crawfish boil). Don't worry...I'll take massive amounts of photos of all the lovely southern food I drown my face in and ruin weeks of working out for this weekend. I'll be very excited to get back and let you know I lived through the plane rides, so look for me next week. I have a very valid (in my mind) fear that I will die in a plane crash at some point in my life, just not sure which plane it will take place on, so I'm hoping it's not this one. If it is, I hope it's on the way home with a happy belly full of crawfish and not on the way there so we have to miss the party. Happy (my Friday) Wednesday, friends!