Signs of the Times...And Then Some Lunch

It's really quite depressing...

Picked up our local newspaper, The Hour; turned to the back and started reading.  {Side note - whenever I read any newspaper, I always start with the obits (my favorite section, have no idea why so please don't ask), next read the classified (next favorite section, see previous for reason or lack thereof) then the rest of the paper.} Got through the obits and turned to the classifieds. I was totally stymied. This section, which has averaged at the least 3 to 4 pages in length for as long as I can remember, was all of a page and a half long. The help wanted section, that has always taken up at least 3/4 of a page, had exactly 5 (that's five) ads. And three of those ads were for jobs at the newspaper itself! I find this very frightening, as well as depressing. I hope things begin looking up soon...for all of us - but I don't know....

And now on to a more pleasant subject...

The above is a photo of my Tuesday working-kind-of-gal-that-I-am lunch. (And I'm just sure all of you are thrilled to see that!) It's (obviously) leftovers. It's from last weeks Sunday Family Dinner when we dined on sauteed chicken, spaghetti and a stir-fried zucchini-veggie mix.

I'll have you know, the zucchini and red pepper you see in the above were from my garden, well, such that my garden was - don't get that excited, the whole garden venture was rather pathetic as you can count on one hand the harvest numbers of each, but it's more than we've ever grown before, so I'm very pleased! (Our tomato crop was outstanding! For the first time ever I could share the bounty and that felt mighty good!) Below you will find my new favorite throw-'n-go way to prepare my veggies along with the accompanying chicken: 

For the chicken: 

Pound chicken breasts until no more than 1/4" thick. Season both sides with salt, fresh ground pepper and Italian seasonings to your taste. Heat about 2 tablespoons olive oil in an iron (or stainless steel if you must) skillet over medium-high heat. When hot, saute chicken (don't crowd the skillet) for about 5 minutes on each side. Transfer chicken to a rack place on a cookie sheet and place in a warm (250 degrees) oven. 

Now on to the veggies: 

a red pepper, sliced into about 1/4" x 2" pieces   

an onion, coarse diced

3 or 4 cloves garlic, minced

zucchini, cut in half length wise, then sliced about 3/4" thick

good handful fresh chopped parsley

good handful fresh ribbon-cut basil

salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

olive oil 

When oil is hot, add the pepper and onion to the skillet. Cook, stirring often, for around 5 minutes. Add the garlic and saute for an additional 3 or so minutes. Add the zucchini and cook, stirring often until the zucchini are browned around their edges and al dente (cooked through but firm), or to your taste. Throw in the herbs and s/p and stir to evenly distribute everything. Taste and correct seasonings to your personal taste. Have you said Yummmmmm yet? 

We served the above mixture over spaghetti (whole wheat of course) - and it was delicious - with the chicken on the side. Of course, we also had homemade spaghetti & meatball sauce for those who wanted to have their sauce and veggies too. Comfort food at it's finest! 

At least with all the financial woes and uncertainties in this world of ours, you can still have a wonderful and comforting meal that is shared with family and friends!

~~~

xoabb

expect anything!