Sunday Dinners

Sunday nights usually produce our small family sitting around the table for dinner together. It's a nice idea, and one that only happens a few nights a week...if I'm lucky. Most of my hours are in the afternoon / early evenings, so it's likely that the hubs and I will eat together (he's so nice to wait for me), but he usually ends up feeding the little guy long before I'm home or able to make dinner.

Sometimes, after a long week, we order pizza or just eat left-overs, but it's likely on a Sunday that I will cook something up (secret - I love to cook!); tonight was no exception. I just love healthy, home-made meals, and it's a good day in my book when you can use up a bunch of stuff in the refrigerator to create something delish! Because I pre-chop and wash most of my produce, my cooking-time seems to be cut in half these days, which also gives me more time to chat with my son while getting dinner ready.

Tonight, he joined me in the kitchen and sat up at the bar-top while I prepared. I had a container of some cherry tomatoes that I had planned to put in this particular dish. He fussed to get the plastic container open, and as soon as he did, he said "mommy, I'm gonna eat this." I said "go right ahead, but it's a tomato, not a grape, and if you put it in your mouth, you have to chew it up and swallow it." In my experience, if he's not prepared for what he's about to eat - or thinks it's something else - he likely spits it out by sheer surprise. Imagine my surprise when he chewed it up and went for another one! Ya - I knew I loved that kid!

So what did we make? I took almost all the veggies I had still fresh. This included: onion, garlic (don't you just love that combo?!?!), green pepper, broccoli, and cherry tomatoes. I had a grilled chicken breast left over from another dish that I diced up as well. After sauteing the veggies in olive oil, I seasoned them with salt, pepper, garlic salt, and a little oregano. I seasoned the chicken separately (Food Network told me to always season every layer ;)....) and then added that to the veggies. I added a can of low-cal cream of chicken soup and diluted it with about a 1/4 cup of water. After simmering a few minutes, I tossed the bunch into whole wheat rigatoni pasta. Oh, and let's not forget the Parmesan cheese....top it off with freshly grated parm. That's right - and none of that boxed junk. I'm a brat when it comes to cheese, but it makes a huge difference!

There you have it!  A delicious, and very colorful meal in 15 minutes whipped up from whatever was left in the fridge after a long week. It turned out really great and I got to spend a few minutes in the kitchen with my favorite little boy in the whole world!