Invention is the mother of necessity

So, Culinary School didn't send me in the depths of the restaurant industry like I thought it would. My parent's hard earned money didn't go to waste though. I'm actually pretty good with looking at what we have and making something edible out of it. It's difficult to do because Benjamin eats what we eat, so I have to make sure what I'm serving is something he will also enjoy.

Here are two things I've made on the fly that have turned into some of our favorites.

Pan Seared Chicken Breast with Spicy Tomato Sauce

4 Chicken Breasts (seasoned with Best Stop Seasoning)

2 Tbsp Olive Oil

1 28 oz can Crushed Tomatoes

1 Onion, diced

3 Garlic pods, diced

1/2 Cup Whole Kalamata Olives, pitted

1/2 Cup Whole Green Olives, pitted

1/4 tsp Crushed Peppers

Add olive oil to sauté pan, heat. Pan sear chicken breast on both sides set aside.

Sauté onion and garlic in pan. Add can of tomatoes, mix in crushed peppers, salt and pepper. Add both kinds of olives.

Place Chicken in an oven safe dish (I have a Pyrex dish that has its own lid), pour tomato sauce over the chicken. Cover the dish

Bake for 350 degrees for 25 minutes. (your oven may be totally rad and you won't need to cook as long.  Here in half-ass assembly land I have to cook it forever)

Serve over Polenta or any kind of Pasta you'd like to make. Penne works really well with this.

So delicious! This 21 month old sends his approval

Beef Stew with Rosemary and Green Beans

Pack of Beef Chunks (seasoned with Best Stop Seasoning)

2 Tbsp Olive Oil

Flour- never measured it; it's to make a roux with the oil

1/2 cup Onion, diced

3 cloves Garlic, diced

1 cup Water (Chicken Stock would be the best option, but I can't find hit here)

1-2 springs Rosemary (no chopping needed)

1/3 cup Whole Milk or Cream

Brown beef in oil, remove from pan. You may have to add more olive oil at this point. Add flour to make roux. Stir a lot to remove starchy flavor. Add Onion and Garlic. Add Water or Chicken stock. Stir. Add Cream. Add Rosemary.  Add Beef back to sauce once all the ingredients have incorporated.  Cook for 15 minutes.

Serve over, you guessed it, Polenta

To add a little awesome to the Polenta check out this recipe from Pioneer Woman Cooks.

The Green Beans are done the typical way.  Blanch, saute with chopped garlic and serve.  I cut them up and mix it together with Benny's meal.  He's a fan.

Seth commented on how it's great that I'm making everything from scratch now, and I'm honestly loving being able to do that.  There was no way that I'd cook an entire meal from scratch when we were in the US.  That's a heap of dirty pans not to mention getting Benny from daycare, trying to spend some quality time with him before crying,dinner for him, crying, bath, play time, crying then bed time.  We were eating a good number of hot dogs a couple of months ago.