Stress Relief

Ever since I can remember, I have cooked. When I was a little girl and barely able to see over the counter, my mom would put me on a step stool & I would chop vegetables. The only time I’ve ever cut myself was when I was slicing a bagel and that was when I was in my mid 30s (knocking on wood!). I cooked while I was in college because it provided stress relief or maybe it was another version of procrastination. Either way, my friends would get brownies or whatever I was cooking/baking during mid-terms/finals.

I cook now for friends and family and it doesn’t stress me out. Mainly because I plan a lot. When I was super organized, I would make a weekly meal plan and do all the stuff that people call meal prep over the weekends. These days I look at the calendar, fill in when I’m going to be out at events and cook accordingly. I usually leave food for the Mister so that he doesn’t eat almonds for dinner.

Having people over on a weeknight or weekend is a fun way for me to show I care for my tribe. I’m a food pusher. If you leave hungry from my house, it’s really not my fault. Here’s an easy chicken dinner I made when friends come over for dinner one night.

spatchcocked chicken
Spatchcocked chicken with potatoes. Sorry if you’re grossed out with raw chicken!

If you’re looking for a video to spatchcock a chicken, look no further!

Don’t worry about doing it “right” (no one is going to know) and it will still taste delicious anyway! I don’t use the skewers when I do mine. For this instance, I threw it on top of red potatoes.

roast chicken
I didn’t add any olive oil or butter to the chicken. Salt & pepper along with a preheated 450 degree oven for about 50+ minutes. Along the way, I drank wine (I think that was KEY). 😉
roasted potatoes
This was underneath the chicken. Tossed olive oil with salt & pepper and after it was roasted, added freshly ground rosemary and thyme. Since the herbs weren’t cooking the whole time, it gave it an earthiness. Sometimes I add lemon zest or lemon juice for a bright kick in da mouth.
green beans
Ignore the dreamy steamy portion of the picture of some basic haricot verts. I like eating these than green beans because I like the thinness. Steam them until however you like them done. I like a bit of a crunch.
squash
These don’t look so delicious. I’ve learned that looks can be deceiving. With a bit of caramelized onions, it makes eating vegetables more tasty.

Dinner done – did I mention I had wine while I was making this because the oven did all the work.

What do you do for stress relief?

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