Back to the basics

Tonight we took it back to the basics.  Roasted chicken, mac and cheese, and kale.

We came up with this menu yesterday so I called my mom and requested a sweet potato pie (she claimed to have made us one on xmas but we were in South Carolina)...I went to the market and dropped the ingredients off at her house - enough for 4 pies (3 for us, and 1 for her to share with my sister's family - wow, that sounds a bit gluttonous).

I finally started prepping around 2pm; I decided to get fancy and make a paste to marinate the chicken (inspired by Saad's, a Lebanese joint that we used to frequent until our first trip to UAE) - sumak, thyme, bazaara, Moroccan paprika, cayenne pepper, salt, garlic, onions, olive oil, lemon juice - yes, everything but the kitchen sink - it seemed that I went too far but the chicken was delicious - breasts busting with flavor (abnormally large breasts, but we've already been down that road about genetically engineered chicken). 

I used multi-grain penne for the mac and cheese - mixed my cheese sauce with the noodles and popped it in the oven for a bit then sauteed the garlic and onions for the kale.  We sat around the table and ate in silence, enjoying every morsel. 

We had freshly brewed sweet tea as our beverage, followed by sweet potato pie and TJs Breakfast Blend coffee, and an ice cream night cap.  Yes this was a bit of a binge, but I think I am a little worn out...leftovers are on the menu tomorrow.