I was walking the dog today in a light spring jacket not at all suitable for the weather cuz I’ve just about had it with wearing a parka when I spotted my neighbour’s daffodils and realized that holy hell, spring might possibly have finally sprung? I mean, it’s still freezing, and apparently it’s about to rain for 9 days straight, but there is light at the end of the tunnel, in oh so many ways. ‘S nice, isn’t it? The smell of fresh flowers and vaccines in the air… It’s enough to make you believe in our old pal hope again!

I’ve been doing a lot of duff-sitting over here, still on hiatus and anxiously awaiting news on a season two of Family Law. No, season one has not aired yet, and yes I will tell you as soon as we have an air date, and yes my producers have realized that I’m a blabbermouth and thus most likely won’t tell me anything until I CAN universally share it. But we’re gettin’ close!

I do have a lovely Audible short story that you can download for a good cause, one I had the pleasure of doing with none other than the delightful dream team of Neil Gaiman, Arvind Ethan David, and Michael Patrick Jann. Proceeds are going to the mental health initiative This is My Brave, who do incredibly important and wonderful work, and I urge you to check them out. The story is aptly named Neil Gaiman at the End of the Universe, and I get to play a sassy AI, so go download it now, will ya? Listen closely for the Firefly Easter egg in there, too…

I’m trying to start a paragraph without using the word “I”, but that’s not possible, so let me just get on with it and provide you with a dinner idea. If you follow me on social media, this is the infamous dish that made me burn my hand to absolute hell when I forgot the handle was still hot on the pan after it came out of the oven, so I HIGHLY RECOMMEND OVEN MITTS on that handle once it comes out to remind your dumb self. My hand is fine, albeit a bit scarred, but my hand modelling career never took off anyway, so life goes on. I’m still cooking my heart out and getting my jollies out of food consumption. This dinner’s simple to make and quite good for you, plus bonus points for the one pan simplicity of it all, saving yourself time during clean up so you can get back to doing… not much?

(let’s hope we all get back to doing much, much more, with all of the people we love, very soon..)

In the meantime, feast yourself and treat yourself.

xJ

Baked Sheet Pan Chicken with Sundried Tomato Relish

Ingredients:

1 1/2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breast

1 lemon, sliced

1/2 lb baby potatoes, halved

1 zucchini, sliced into 1/2 inch coins

1 bell pepper, seeded and sliced

1/2 cup of basil, chopped

half a cup of cherry tomatoes

2 cloves of garlic, chopped

1/4 tsp red pepper flakes

extra virgin olive oil

Salt and pepper

Relish:

1/3 cup sundried tomatoes, chopped

1/4 cup feta, crumbled

1/4 cup pitted kalamata olives, chopped

pepper

Yogurt sauce:

1 cup of full fat plain greek yogurt

the zest and juice of one lemon

1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

salt and pepper

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 425F

Heat a large cast iron or oven proof pan over medium-high heat. Add a drizzle of olive oil and lay the lemon slices down evenly, searing them for about two minutes a side. Reserve them on a plate. Season the chicken breasts with salt and pepper, add another drizzle of olive oil to the pan, add the garlic, and sear the chicken on both sides until golden, about 3 minutes a side. Remove the chicken and set aside.

Add the potatoes to the same pan with another drizzle of olive oil, and season them well with salt and pepper. Pop them in the oven for 15 minutes.

Carefully add the zucchini and bell pepper to the potatoes and give it a good stir. Season once again with a little salt and pepper. Make room for the chicken and place it in the centre of the pan. Sprinkle the cherry tomatoes on top of the chicken, and pop it all back into the oven for another 20 minutes or so, until the potatoes are tender and the veggies are soft and caramelized and the chicken is cooked through and the tomatoes have burst and it’s all just insanely so delicious.

For the relish, mix the chopped sundried tomatoes, olives, and feta in a bowl. Season with black pepper.

For the yogurt sauce, mix the yogurt with the lemon juice and zest, and olive oil and season with salt and pepper.

Sprinkle the chicken and vegetable mixture with fresh basil, set the caramelized lemon slices on top, and serve.

SERVES 2