Throw together meals

Eric and I specialize in this. We're pretty good at sticking to our grocery budget, but we're not very good at planning a menu for the week. So we have become near experts at just using what we have.

Last night was a major success--we both loved the meal I threw together at 9 p.m. after Eric got home from taking a midterm. I thought I'd share, even though it's really simple. Also, we don't do well with leftovers, so we make just enough for two people, so you'll definitely need to increase the amount on the ingredients. No worries, though, because it's nothing scientific!

1 thick chicken breast
1 zucchini, sliced into small rounds
Olive oil
Dried basil, oregano, thyme, and/or any Italian-themed spices you enjoy
1 packet alfredo sauce mix (and any ingredients needed to make said mix--usually butter and milk)
Some onion

We thawed the chicken and I made Eric trim it in half for me so it was thinner--it was a large breast. Otherwise we would have used two. Preheat oven to 350. Put the chicken breast in a baking dish, and lay the zucchini on top of the chicken and throughout the pan. Drizzle a small amount of olive oil over the chicken and zucchini, then sprinkle your spices. Prepare alfredo sauce according to package directions (or if you're being fancy, make your own--just make enough to be able to have a good 3/4 inch or so of sauce in the bottom of your pan). Pour sauce over zucchini and chicken. Slice some onion and arrange over top of the sauce. We had a good amount of onion because Eric loves them. Pop the pan in the oven and let cook until chicken is cooked (for our small dish it took about 30-35 minutes).

We toasted some English muffins for the side and all-in-all it was a nice way to end a long day for my poor grad student--he'd had a midterm in accounting and it was rough.

Try it, you'll like it!