![]() (The onion doesn’t need to be in tiny bits but it shouldn’t be in giant chunks, either.) Sprinkle a few dashes of salt over the onions and a handful of fresh herbs like rosemary, parsley, oregano, sage or basil. First, pour about a tablespoon of olive oil into the bottom of the dish, followed by a whole, roughly diced onion. ![]() We’re going to build this entrée in layers. ![]() Turn your oven on to 350 degrees and get out a 2.5-quart covered casserole dish. (She’s already straining a few of my nerves on this count, bless her cotton socks.)īut back to dinner. She’s about to make her first foray into adulthood, when she can do all the terribly misguided things that people in their 20s do. My daughter is not too far away from the age I was when I got married. Now, here in our 50s, I suppose we’re officially grown up and responsible for all sorts of things. It was responsibility-free bliss, but we didn’t know it at the time, caught up as we were in our rather adorable efforts to pretend that we were adults and not just a couple of big kids. We’d watch reruns on TV and talk about our plans for the weekend. My husband didn’t care two hoots and would make himself a baloney sandwich or heat up a box of frozen pasta. Even scrambling an egg was too ambitious. I start to reminisce about the early days of our marriage, when I’d come home from work, toss my keys and purse on the table and do nothing more complicated than make toast. It’s those moments when my workday is winding down and I’m coming into the kitchen and taking stock of ingredients that I feel inadequate for the task at hand. It’s the thinking about having to do it that’s the problem. Once I’m actively engaged in the chopping of vegetables and the boiling and the sauteeing and the seasoning and the baking, I feel great. My point is, even for someone like me who enjoys cooking and allegedly knows a few things - a very few, I assure you - about how to make things tasty, dinner can be a chore. (Friday night is frozen pizza night and Saturday and Sunday nights are usually some combination of crackers, cheese, fruit and popcorn. I feel overwhelmed at least four nights a week. We all need a few of these one-dish wonders up our culinary sleeves for days when dinner seems like a very daunting task indeed.
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