Pantry Project

Sauteed chicken cutlets, roasted fingerlings and baby carrots

Cooking from what’s on hand isn’t as hard as I thought it might be.

This time, I had the presence of mind to raid the freezer the night before, so that the meat would have time to thaw before I was going to cook it.

Thawing in the microwave never goes well for me. I invariably wind up with partially cooked meat that ultimately turns out dry and tough.  Note to self: It’s best avoid the microwave for thawing meats when at all possible.

In the pantry I found a half a bag of fingerling potatoes and some onions. In the fridge, I found some baby carrots that were no longer appealing to eat raw, but there was still some hope for them…I decided that roasting the veggies was the best way to go.

For the chicken…I came across a recipe years (and I mean years) ago in Pam Anderson’s book: How to Cook Without a Book (Check out Pam’s blog by the way, Three Many Cooks) for cooking cutlets (pork, chicken, whatever) and making a quick pan sauce to go with them that I’ve used over and over and over (the recipe, not the pan sauce)…definitely worth the price of the book just for that recipe.

Find Pam’s technique for cooking the cutlets without a recipe here.

To roast the (tired) vegetables, just put them on a cookie sheet, drizzle with olive or canola oil, and roast at 400 degrees for half an hour, then check them, stir them around on the pan, then put them back for another 20 or so minutes, depending on how dark you like them. When done, sprinkle with sea salt and give them a few grinds of black pepper.

Dinner…it’s done!