Quick Mediterranean-Inspired Dinner

Against my better judgment—and totally against my efforts to save money by shopping with a list—yesterday I went to Trader Joe’s hungry and with a 2-year-old who was not in the mood to market. I came out with a heaping cart of really random stuff. The upside, I got to concoct dinner in a loosey goosey manner, trying to put a dent into all of these random ingredients I came home with. It was a hit, and the house smelled amazing….

1 pkg all-natural chicken tenders
1 tub crumbled Feta cheese
1 jar roasted piquillo peppers
½ jar pitted kalamata olives
1 large can organic diced tomatoes
1 tub (fresh) organic cherry tomatoes
1 bag frozen artichoke hearts
Zest of 1 lemon
½ pkg fresh mint, I tossed in whole leaves
splash of olive oil
splash of sherry vinegar
dash of freshly ground pepper
(the Feta added enough salt to the dish)

I tossed everything together (which took mere minutes) and roasted it at 375 (in a big ceramic baking dish) until the chicken was cooked, stirring twice to meld flavors. Served it with green beans, which I blanched.

My older son who does not eat meat (“or anything with a mother”) avoided the chicken, so I heated a package of TJ’s multigrain pilaf, stirred in some of TJ's shredded "Quattro Formaggio", then topped the rice with a hearty side of the tomato/olive/Feta mixture, three things he does like. Mmmm.