Dinner, anyone?

Dinner dilemma: no time, no money, no inspiration. I admit it: I've been in a tried and true dinner funk lately.

Three nights out of the week, our little family doesn't get home until 6:30 or 7 p.m., when the thought of breaking out a pot seems oh so daunting. But I'm trying to do better. None of us needs more fast food (money money money!), but we could all use a little more time around the table.

So when this recipe came my way, I thought I would give it a whirl:

Tomato Basil Chicken

• 9 0z package prepared chicken breast, diced
• TB extra virgin olive oil
• 14.5-ounce can Red Gold diced tomatoes with basil, garlic & oregano (it's ALL in there!)
• 1 & 1/4 c water
• 6-ounce package rice pilaf mix
• 1/4 c chopped, fresh basil

What's not to like about this recipe? As if it weren't simple enough, I even took a few more shortcuts. I used Uncle Ben's microwave rice pilaf (the one where you pop it in the microwave for 90 seconds). And the package of chicken I bought was just 6 ounces, so I doubled the tomatoes (yum!). Since I had extra tomato juice, there wasn't any need for water.

How did it taste? Really, really good. And even though it took a total of 21 minutes to prepare (3 minutes to open everything, dump it in the pot and mix; 18 minutes to cook out the liquid), it tasted like I slaved over the stove for a while. But now that I think about it, 21 minutes is just about all I've got these days.


Here it is: Tomato Basil Chicken (joining it were always-on-standby garlic bread and the dependable green salad). Great meal, great price, great nutrition. Give it a go. I think you'll agree.

And now, because I'm serious about you trying it (when I like something, I just like it...and I think you should too), stay tuned on Wednesday to hear details about a giveaway. Hooray, a giveaway! See, that's all it takes to amuse me.