If I can create one complete and delicious meal using only 1 baking dish and a cutting board, I chalk it up as a win. Roasted chicken is by far one of my greatest staples in the weeknight menu. Once I chop up all the veggies, season the chicken, and stick it all in the oven, I get an hour or so of relaxation while the oven does its magic on my dinner. 

Hello, glass of wine.

This whole roasted chicken recipe works wonders for the masses. By roasting the entire chicken, the meat stays juicy and tender. Plus, as the juices run off the chicken, they help to flavor the surrounding roasting vegetables.

Then if you feel ambitious, you can take the leftover chicken bones and boil/simmer them in water. Throw in the leftover veggies and some noodles, and voila! Chicken noodle soup!

It's the chicken that keeps on giving.

Weeknight meals are about speed and simplicity...Tired and drained from a full day of work - how fast can you make a meal that tastes great and doesn't leave you with a pile of dishes at the end?

Great food doesn't have to be fancy. In fact, simplicity is sometimes the best way to go! For the next few weeks, I'm going to post super easy, quick-to-make foods that can be paired with a simple vegetable, pasta, rice, or leftover sides from the weekend.

First on the "Simple Weeknight Gourmet" menu is one of the fastest recipes I have in the repertoire: Pan-Roasted Fish.

I've heard from many that cooking fish can induce some stress and anxiety - the fish sticks to the pan, it's overcooked and dry, it's undercooked and scary...Whatever the fear, there's an easy way I'm about to share that can work for any fish filet (with or without skin).

This past weekend was filled with dyed Easter egg decorating, and while it's all fun and games at the time, the looming question afterward is - What to do with all those boiled eggs? Egg salad sandwiches and deviled eggs get old really fast, so I found another way to eat up those eggies by making braided stuffed bread.

Simply put, I made a simple Italian bread dough, rolled it out, and filled the bread insides with boiled eggs, veggies, cheese...anything tasty I found in my fridge. It's like the kitchen sink soup in bread form!

Breakfast, lunch, dinner, or brunch. This stuffed bread defies traditional meal time status quo. 

WARNING: This post contains copious amounts of cursing in the name of healthy food. If this isn't your thing, here's a less offensive post for you.

For all others, let's f*cking do this!


I received the most wonderful, in-your-face cookbook from a good friend this week. This video explains the book quite beautifully:

I about died laughing at this video. You're welcome.

In all seriousness, this book is a pretty great, approachable way to start cooking dishes that taste good and are healthy for you. It gives a lot of starter tips on the tools needed in the kitchen, basics on how to cook some staple foods such as rice and beans, and general advice on cooking. Some great examples:

• On reading recipes completely before starting to cook: "READ THE GODDAMN RECIPE...Nothing is worse than getting to a crucial point in a recipe and realizing that the next thing you need is dirty in the sink...Don't just glance at a recipe and assume you've got that shit."
• On substituting ingredients in a recipe: "We offer ideas for substitutions in can't you can't find one of the ingredients or don't want to all the way to the store for just one fucking item...Feel free to try and mix shit up on your own, but use some goddamn sense. Out of tomato sauce? Not  problem, just...PUT THE FUCKING KETCHUP BACK. NO. NOT THE SAME THING...Like we were saying, just throw some diced tomatoes in a blender."
• On basic tools to have in the kitchen: "Who needs an avocado slicer? A person without any goddamn sense, that's who. Stick to this basic list [on the page in the book] and you'll be set for almost anything"

All the recipes in the book are plant-based - no meat or animal products! The average American eats more than double the pounds of meat that is recommended for a healthy diet, according to the book. "So come the fuck on, the last thing anybody needs is another book coming out telling you how to cook meat. Clearly you that shit on lock."

I've only had time to test out a couple recipes, but so far so delicious! I the best part is I don't feel bad eating any of it because it's all healthy. They have awesome recipes for breakfast, salads, sandwiches, soups, mini-meals, snacks, dinners, and dessert - they cover all the eating occasion bases.

If you're still on the fence about this book, Thug Kitchen's website has a recipe section, where you can make some of their tasty creations. The book has way more than what the website offers, though, with lots of nifty and helpful kitchen tips and tricks.