I had something of a whirlwind weekend in which I hung out with a bunch of Philly bloggers, helped a friend arrange the couches in her new house and baked a batch of brownies to take to an impromptu dinner party. Other than the brownies, I didn't do much in the way of cooking and by last night, I was aching to get back into the kitchen and make some easy food that tasted good and wasn't ordered off a menu.
The meal I cooked was fairly simple, just some chicken breasts marinated in balsamic vinegar, olive oil and chopped rosemary (grilled up quickly on my trusty George Foreman grill--it's not fancy but it does the job really well), steamed broccoli and roasted carrots. However, it was deeply satisfying.
The carrots were an especially nice touch as they aren't one of my normal sides. They brought added color and sweetness to a meal that could have been a little boring otherwise. Typically I don't peel carrots, but these had been in my crisper drawer for some time and so had gotten a little furry and funky, so I quickly stripped them of their skins. I cut them on the bias for maximum surface area, tossed them with salt, pepper and olive oil and popped them in a 425 degree oven for about half an hour. They came out sweet and tender, but not mushy. You could do the same thing with those half-empty bags of baby carrots that often gather in the produce drawer. By using them, you wouldn't even have to chop them to prepare.
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