Chicken, cheese, and carrots

I was going to make this really yummy looking recipe from Bon Appetit but when I went to Whole Foods I 1. couldn't find sun dried tomatoes packed in olive oil 2. forgot to buy basil, and 3. bought the wrong kind of chicken. My usual OCD self would have panicked, gone out again to procure all the necessary ingredients and made the chicken exactly as it was called for in the recipe (a year ago, I might have even sun dried the tomatoes myself), BUT, this new carefree less OCD Marsha decided to adapt the recipe and make it her own. I didn't even look at the recipe once I got home from the store. Instead, I mixed some stuff together - I even felt like Nadine as I was quickly chopping artichoke hearts and throwing salt on some carrots. The chicken turned out, well, really good. I'm always surprised when things I come up with taste good or don't poison me. Oh and the carrots! The following carrot recipe is courtesy of Jamie Oliver and I didn't change it or add anything at all. If Jamie says to use a glug* of olive oil then I use a glug of olive oil. They were perfect and sweet and salty and garlicky and thymey and mmmmmm...


THE BEST WHOLE-BAKE CARROTS (Jamie Oliver, Cook With Jamie)

1 lb young bunched carrots, washed and scrubbed
olive oil
herb or red wine vinegar (I used red wine)
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
a few sprigs of fresh thyme
3 cloves of garlic, crushed

Preheat your oven to 400. Toss your carrots with a good glug of olive oil, a splash of vinegar, salt and pepper, the thyme sprigs and the garlic cloves. Place in a roasting pan, cover tightly with foil and cook for 30 t 40 minutes until just tender. Remove the foil and cook for a further 10 minutes until the carrots have browned and carmelized nicely.

and

CHICKEN WITH ARTICHOKE HEARTS AND FONTINA CHEESE

2 chicken breast cutlets, pounded thin (the other one is for my lunch tomorrow!)
a handful of shredded fontina cheese
3-5 chopped artichoke hearts, drained from a can
salt and pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Mix artichoke hearts and shredded fontina cheese in a bowl and add a splash of olive oil to coat. Salt and pepper the chicken cutlets after they have been pounded thin and spoon the cheese/artichoke mixture onto them. Carefully roll the chicken into a nice little bundle and secure with a toothpick or skewer. Heat oil in heavy large ovenproof skillet over high heat. Add chicken and cook for about two minutes on each side. Transfer skillet to oven and bake until cooked through, about 10 minutes.


*Not exactly sure what a glug is. Xua, Nadine and I might have to take another field trip to Tea and Sympathy to find out.