Three Ruined Dinners in Two Nights

It started with an innocent mistake… I started defrosting chicken in a bowl of cold water and forgot to place the bowl in the refrigerator before going to bed. I wasn’t willing to risk eating rotten poultry so the chicken went directly into the trash. I pulled another package out of the freezer and placed it in the fridge to thaw slowly.

My husband came home hungry and we immediately rushed into cutting up vegetables and preparing dinner. I threw a bunch of garlic into the frying pan and must not have realized it was burned before adding the rest of the ingredients including the newly thawed package of chicken and a handful of spices. By the time I tasted our dish the overpowering flavor of burnt garlic permeated the entire pan. For the second time that afternoon a pound of chicken went into the trash.

The following night I pulled pre-made burgers out of the freezer to thaw. While I was busy scanning 35mm slides for my grandmother, my husband kindly grilled the burgers. A combination of burnt burgers and fairly old ground beef led to a nearly inedible dinner. Let’s just say we filled up on baked potatoes and salad that evening.

Tonight we were finally back on track in the kitchen. We prepared a delicious balsamic and orange chicken dish, based somewhat on this recipe. It felt good to get back on track in the kitchen and cook something edible again!