I think I rocked dinner last night

I don't cook a lot, but sometimes I get it right. Last night was one of those nights.

The plan was for Steven to make a roasted chicken. When it looked like he was going to be a little late coming home from work, I decided to start dinner. The first thing I wanted to do was use the remaining half loaf of bread that we had from another night and make a little stuffing to put into the roaster. I chopped up the bread into good sized chunks and baked them in the oven for about 20 minutes to get them good and crunchy.

While the bread was cooking I chopped up a large onion and put that into a bowl with a softened whole stick of butter (this isn't the healthiest stuffing). On the stove I simmered a pan of chicken stock with sage and thyme in it. When that came to a boil I strained the liquid into a bowl. Once the bread was ready I broke up the chunks a little, keeping them fairly big and mixed that into the onion/butter mixture. I added salt and pepper and poured some of the chicken stock liquid into the bowl to get everyone moist.

Next I filled a medium casserole dish with the stuffing, covered with foil and put into the oven for an hour. The last 10 minutes or so I took off the foil.

The chicken was a piece of cake. I rubbed the skin with a little bit of olive oil and salt and pepper and put that bad boy into a roasting pan in the oven next to the stuffing on 375 degrees for an hour. The chicken usually takes a little longer if it has been frozen but is done once no blood comes out when turned.

For a veg we had green beans. Kerry snapped the fresh beans and I cooked them for a few minutes in the chicken broth liquid, making sure not to overcook them (we like them with a little crunch, not mushy).

Lastly, I took some whole tomatoes and cut them into slices, drizzling balsamic vinegar and salt and pepper over them. An easy, delicious addition (although one of the tomatoes wasn't fully ripe).

I was proud of my little meal. It's not often that I cook and somehow I feel like I get a little better at it each time! Have a happy and safe new year.