Simple Barbequed Chicken

Cost: $9

Prep: 15 minutes

It's so hoooooooot. I can not make myself cook in this weather. If this were BC (before Charlie), we would just go out.

Alas, those days are no longer, as are further numbered as we will soonish have a newborn and a toddler to deal with. So, we stayed home and did not use the oven.

Matt barbequed some chicken legs. I read that using a citrusy marinade helps reduce the harmful effects of charring meat. With the amount of time Matt has been standing in front of that grill, this seems important.

I made a marinade that is 1/2 lime juice and 1/2 balsamic vinaigrette. Matt hates balsamic vinegar, so he just had barbeque sauce. It was probably the best tasting chicken I have had in a long time. Charlie loved it, and he ate two legs.

I did have to generate some heat by using the toaster to make us some garlic toast as a side. We also ate a giant bowl of Greek salad--although we were out of tomatoes.

Classic Chicken

Cost: $8

Prep: 30 minutes

Not much to say about this dinner either. It was Shake'n'bake chicken legs with leftover mashed potatoes, garlic toast, and green beans.

I ate a small simple meal, as I had yoga after, but Matt and Charlie filled their man and baby boots.

Charlie is working on learning how to eat off a plate. So far, it has been okay, but there have been many attempts for the entire meal to be eaten by the floor.

Korma Chicken Legs

Cost: $12

Prep: 30 minutes

For a dinner thrown together at the last minute, this wasn't bad.

For veggies, we had squash and steamed asparagus. We also ate boiled potatoes.

My mom left some appies as well. We call it "Spanikabeata". It is like a little spinach pie, but instead of spinach, it has beat greens.

The protein was chicken legs baked in Korma sauce. Quite tasty, but messy and not very healthy.

Reasonable Chicken Dinner

Cost: $10 (+the cake)

Prep: 40 minutes

We had a guest for dinner tonight. Our friend Melissa was in town and graced us with her presence at dinner. It was great to see our friend, but unfortunetly I didn't have time to do anything special for dinner except add some rolls and an extra vegetable.

Charlie did something special though: he wore a gold sticker on his forehead for most of dinner, until I tried to take a picture. Then, he took it off and tried to eat it, so that was the end of that.

For dinner I made Shake'n'bake chicken legs, cresent rolls, steamed brocoli, corn, and baked potatoes. Nothing was all the great, and only one thing was terrible. Can you guess what was terrible? Of all things that could be, it was the freaking canned corn! It was the worst canned corn I have ever tasted. It wasn't sweet at all. It was Thrify's Compliments brand, and everything we have tried from this product line has been terrible. We will not be trying it again.

The baked potatoes were also way too big, but we got around this by eating only 1/2 of one each. I slathered mine with fat free sour cream and green onions.

Anyway, we ate sensible portions for dinner.

Therefore, we indulge in dessert. Matt bought a little black forrest cake from the grocery store. It was fairly decent for a store bought cake, maybe a little on the dry side with not enough filling, but it still hit the spot.

A Classic Meal: It's Shake'n'Bake

Cost: $9

Prep time: 45 minutes

Squash and empty potatoes waiting to be restuffed with potato, herb and garlic cream cheese, chives, and mozarella

Steamed green beans, chicken legs, squash, and double stuffed potatoes

My meal, incredibly filling

Charlie enjoying a chicken leg