Easiest Dinner Ever...

Mondays are a bit manic here after school, Matilda has cheerleading class at 4pm so I pick her up from school, (she usually catches the train home but it gets in too late for her class on Mondays), whizz home, whizz out again to cheerleading, I drive home, prepare dinner then whizz out to pick her up at 5.30pm. Mind you, it's a lot less crazy since Myles finished football for the season, I used to have to take him to training on the way to pick Matilda up.

So Monday dinners need to pretty much take care of themselves...tonight's dinner was a Jamie Oliver recipe. It's prepared and cooked in the one dish, (I use a paella dish given to me by my sister, she lived in Spain for a few years, it's the real deal). Preparation takes 10 minutes from beginning to in the oven...truly it does, we love it at our house.


Not sure on exact quantities but it goes something like this...

10 Free Range Chicken Thigh Fillets
8 Medium sized Chat Potatoes
12 Truss Cherry Tomatoes
I Head Garlic (around 10 cloves)
Handful Fresh Thyme
4 Small Onions - pickling size are great
Balsamic Vinegar Reduction
Olive Oil
Salt & Pepper
Continental Parsley

Brush large casserole/paella dish with olive oil.
Halve Chicken Fillets and arrange evenly in dish.
Quarter Potatoes and poke in the spaces between the chicken.
Peel Garlic and Onions, quarter onions, fill empty spaces.
Scatter Cherry Tomatoes evenly, I like to leave the stems on.
Wedge the Thyme in among everything in the dish.
Drizzle with Balsamic Reduction and Olive Oil
Season with Salt & Pepper - I prefer salt flakes and freshly ground pepper.

Bake in 180C oven for approx. one hour or until potatoes are golden.
Adjust seasonings & scatter with chopped Continental Parsley

We love this meal with a huge green salad and lots of crusty bread to mop up the juices in the bottom of the dish...they're good, really good.

*Photo is the dinner I prepared tonight...it's also a meal you can prepare earlier in the afternoon or even the morning and leave in the fridge until you need it. If you do it that way, it's a good idea to quarter the potatoes and leave them in a bowl of water to prevent browning then add them just before baking.

It's also super easy to double or halve for bigger or smaller families, this quantity feeds three adults and a hungry 12 year old.