Books, recipes and a head of broccoli

It’s been a very long while since my last missive. I truly apologize for the delay and while I don’t think any of you are waiting by your phones to read the next installment of this little labor of love, please know I am so grateful for your support.

The hunt for the perfect family dinner continues in the Houlihan household. Last week I got desperate for an easy chicken taco recipe (I have become tired of my crockpot as the weather warms) and found this easy breezy recipe buried in a stack of random recipe printouts from 2023.

It was a huge hit! I had planned on making it again this evening for my hungry hordes, but lacked enthusiasm to eat it myself.

I texted a friend who has her life together: what do you feed your children? And, as I was hoping, she texted me back her meal plan for the week. It included some of our usual suspects, but Greek Chicken Bowl stood out. “Tell me more about the Greek Chicken Bowl…”, I asked her.

And from that, we have a new winner for weeknight dinners! My version was decidedly less organized and glam than hers, but it was a crowd pleaser and fairly low-effort:

This recipe also reminded me to use my air fryer! They make the best and easiest chicken and I have been neglecting it for too long.

Another perk of this dish: pickled red onions. So easy and delicious to make and I’ll use the (scant) leftovers for the aforementioned chicken tacos tomorrow night! Huzzah!

Now, on to books. I literally flew through Clare Leslie Hall’s “Broken Country”.

I’ve had mixed success with Reese’s Book Club books but this one definitely delivers. It’s beautifully written and a moving story set in a small English village. If you’re looking for escapist fiction, try “Broken Country”.

At the recommendation of another friend who has her life together, I also recently read “The Berry Pickers”, and loved it. It’s been haunting me since I finished it a couple days ago.

I’m now onto this lyrical novel, from Louise Kennedy, set during The Troubles in Northern Ireland and a young woman’s pseudo-coming-of-age. So far, I’m loving it and enjoying escaping into a historical period of trouble versus our current reality.

Now on to the broccoli.

Our garden has so far yielded one tomato and one head of broccoli. A new record for us. Every evening I go out to our little vegetable plot and check on the plants. It is calming, silly and delightful.

Thank you for reading! More to come.