I am loved

Last night was the best. I didn't have the best day and as usual my plans of getting off work on time were foiled and I was there even later than usual. But when I got home, Thatboy was waiting for me with open arms. And as I collapsed against him on the couch, Thatdog came up to join us, curling against my legs until we became one tangle of family. Moments like that just make my day.

I poured myself a glass of champagne and thought of an easy dinner that would make me feel better. It's been forever since I've made stove-top chicken, chicken sauteed in a skillet and I decided tonight would be a good night to whip that up because it would be quick, easy, and especially flavorful. I mastered the technique from a Cooking Light article years ago which featured fast and easy chicken dishes, all made in the skillet. The basic technique is to cook the chicken, remove it from the pan, and then add the ingredients to create a sauce, scraping the browned chicken bits off the bottom of the pan and incorporating them. It's pretty easy, and it's pretty no fail. It also doesn't include a lot of oil or butter, making it a fairly low fat and healthy dinner option. Especially since I threw in some sweet potatoes for a healthy starch. I also made my lightened up version of green bean casserole, adding a little more milk than last time to give it a soupier consistency.

Skillet chicken and Sweet Potatoes

• 1/2 Tbsp canola oil
• 1 boneless, skinless, chicken breast
• 1/2 cup chicken broth
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 spring rosemary leaves, chopped
• 1 sprig thyme leaves
• 2 cups sweet potatoes, chopped

1. Pound chicken until it is flat, or as thin as possible. This is one of the most crucial steps for skillet chicken since you want the insides to cook evenly. Otherwise you'll end up with burnt outsides and raw insides. Usually not the meal you're going for. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add the chicken and cook 6 minutes per side, or until the outside is a lovely brown color.
2. Increase the heat to high and add broth, garlic, rosemary, thyme, and sweet potatoes. Scrape the browned bits from the bottom of the pan and bring this mixture to a boil. Cook 3-5 minutes.
3. Return the chicken to the skillet and reduce heat to low. Cover and cook 10 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through and the potatoes are tender.

Serves 2.
Each serving has:

Calories		205
Total Fat		1 g
Total Carbohydrate		32 g
Protein		16 g