Recipe: Tray-Baked Chicken, Squashed Potatoes, Creamed Spinach, and Strawberry Slushie (Jamie Oliver's Meals in Minutes, p. 102).

This one involved a little improvisation with what I had in my kitchen. I had some fresh spinach and strawberries to use up, and chicken in the freezer. Jamie's recipe called for potatoes, which I didn't have, so I substituted brown rice. Also, the chicken was to be baked with cherry tomatoes, but I had some great vine tomatoes. I used ready-cooked bacon with the chicken breasts instead of fresh bacon. The dinner didn't seem to suffer for the variations. The slushie was the easiest - strawberries blended with ice, lemon juice and mint. I added a little Splenda for sweetness.

The creamed spinach was delicious, but I don't know that recipes calling for cream and Parmesan cheese should really be making it into my daily repetoire - a little too decadent.

Just as I was sitting down to dinner my cousins called me on my iPad using FaceTime, and so I "ate" dinner with my family. Ah, the miracles of technology.

Time: 38 minutes, from thought to table.

I added a little dessert - red velvet cupcakes I made this afternoon with Duncan. After dinner I took one across the street to my friend Lisa, and we had tea and a good chat. Perfect end to the meal.