Dining In

My husband and I had our first dinner in since we've both been here.  I was a bit hesitant, at first.  What do I make?  How do I make it in this tiny kitchen?  And most of all, how do I cook on an electric stove and a Celsius degree oven?

So, first things first.  Keep it simple!  We had gone grocery shopping a few days ago and had chicken in the freezer, along with onions and garlic.  I decided to just get some basics and headed to small, local grocery store.  I loaded up on potatoes, green beans, and some cheese to nibble on beforehand.  And of course I couldn't resist the wine shop on the way home. 

Next came the issue of the oven.  I asked my husband to figure out what the Celsius equivalent of 375 Farenheit was and off I went.  It's been years since I've cooked on an electric stove and now I know why I don't like it!!  I can't control the heat and it takes foreeeeever to heat.  Well, you gotta use, what you got.  So I figured it out and managed to sear the chicken, crisp up the potatoes and then throw the whole thing in the oven for 40 minutes.  In the meantime I sauteed some onions and garlic and once they were soft, I put in the green beans.  I poured in some water, covered it all, and let it steam. 

And voila:

Unfortunately I didn't get a picture of the green beans but here is the chicken with potatoes and onions.  The chicken was cooked throughout and the skin was crispy.  Yum!  The green beans were a bit crunchy but all in all, the meal was great.  (In fact, I just walked away from my laptop to steal a few leftover potatoes.)

Here is a pic of the Celsius side of the oven:

And the second best part of all , the meal being the best part, was the cleaning up.  A small kitchen equals not so much cleaning.  I put dishes in the dishwasher, washed the pans, wiped down the countertop, and done! 

I'm looking forward to our next weekend excursion to the grocery store and new recipes for me to try out.  I'm thinking fish stew...

To all of you out there, I wish you good health and good eats!  Until tomorrow.