Title a little confusing? Let me explain. I went back to school this week. Almost 4 years ago I walked away from a successful career in Human Resources. To put it bluntly, it just wasn’t doing it for me anymore. It’s taken me a while to find my new path. It’s taken life, death, and all the experiences in between to figure it out and make it happen. I’ve finally decided to pursue being an LPN (Licensed Practical Nurse). At least as a starting point. It may evolve from there, it may not. Anyway, my son David dropped off a “back to school” gift last night. It was a purple Ecuadorian Rose, that doesn’t wilt, as long as it is kept out of water and direct sunlight. Several years ago, he made me a mason jar that holds “365 reasons that I love you as my mom”. That felt like the perfect vessel to hold this preserved rose. To get the rose inside, I had to take some of the sayings out. Before placing them back inside, I read a few. The first one I read said “you always find a way.”
Boy, did I need to read that statement today. As a reminder to myself, I always find a way. I must be crazy. Starting school right now?!?! We have 2 boys still at home. Teenagers, no less. That alone is enough to drive any mom bat shit crazy. Moms, you know it’s true. Love them to the moon and back, but the reality is teenagers suck sometimes. OK, so still raising the 2 kiddos. I still have 2 part time jobs, and will keep both throughout school. I run our household (thankfully the hubs is really stepping up and helping with that). I’ve got 2 trips planned for April. I have my blog, even though it is purely for enjoyment, it takes time. And I am having a full hysterectomy (menopause is a bitch) in a couple weeks. Like, for real, is this really the best time to start college full time again? Yep. Definitely. There is no time like the present. And, as David inadvertently reminded me, I always find a way.
I have not blogged much because I haven’t even cooked much lately. Again, that sweet Hubby is stepping up to the plate tremendously! However, I miss cooking dinner for my family. And I miss sharing it on my blog. Because I wanted to do both tonight, I texted Matt in between classes today and asked him to come up with 4 basket ingredients to challenge me with tonight. Here we go:
The 4 basket ingredients were:
- Cauliflower because he knows I am trying to eat healthier.
- Chicken because we had 3 chicken breasts in the refer that needed to be used up.
- Peanut butter, I don’t know why.
- Bacon because, well, it’s bacon.
First, I threw half pound of bacon in the air fryer to get that ready for the chicken.
I made roasted cauliflower, coated in a seasoned yogurt sauce. Super simple and delicious. I think Greek yogurt would have been better, but I just had regular plain in the fridge. I used about ¾ cup of that mixed with little bit of Garlic, a squirt of Lemon Juice, roughly 2 teaspoons each of Thyme, Oregano, Smoked Paprika and 1 teaspoon each of Cumin and Chili Powder. I tossed in a head of chopped Cauliflower. I spread it onto a lightly greased baking sheet. I set that aside until the chicken was also ready to go into the oven.
For the remaining basket ingredients, I made stuffed chicken breasts. I was going to make Chicken Pinwheels and air fry them, but the stuffing ended up being too large for that. So, I found a way to make it work. I made a sauce using the Peanut Butter by mixing about 1/3 cup of It with 2/3 cup Mayo, Garlic Salt, White Pepper and Smoked Paprika. I pounded the crap out of the chicken and cut each in half. Then I spread the PB mix over each chicken, topped with Spinach, Onions, and the cooked Bacon. I folded each in half and fastened together using toothpicks. I sprayed a thin layer of cooking spray on a baking sheet before moving the chicken to the sheet.
I baked both baking sheets in the oven at 400 degrees for about 12 minutes. Then I removed the cauliflower and let the chicken bake another handful of minutes. You could put the cauli back in under the broiler if you wanted. I didn’t and it was still great.
Honestly this was fairly simple to make. And hot damn, that chicken was absolutely delicious. We loved it and I will definitely make it again.
No recipe card for this post. Sorry folks. Sometimes I just want to write.
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