Skillet Chicken with Green Garlic/ Quinoa with Arugula

I made these dishes so long ago that it's a bit difficult to remember. Most of what I remember is that they are both super easy to put together and really delicious.

For the chicken, you toss together a cut-up chicken with salt, pepper, olive oil, a whole head of fresh garlic (sliced), and a ton of fresh thyme, and you let it sit for a while. Feeling a bit rushed, I tossed it all in the skillet, set the timer, and went back to my desk to grade some papers.

Then you put the pan over heat, cover it, and just let it cook for longer than you think is wise: about 10 minutes. You flip the chicken over, deglaze with a bunch of wine, and let it cook some more. And before you know it, before you believe it's possible, the chicken is all cooked.

You take the chicken out of the pan, add a bit more wine and some lemon juice/zest, deglaze a bit more, and thicken the sauce with some butter. That's it, and it's fabulous. While the chicken is cooking, you can make some Quinoa with Black Pepper and Brown Butter.

 Again, pretty darned easy. Bring some water to a boil in a largish pot, add your (rinsed) quinoa, and cook about 10 minutes. Drain the quinoa and scrape out the pot well. Put the pot back over the heat and brown a couple of tablespoons of butter in it. When that butter starts to smell fabulous, add some chopped garlic, then the quinoa, and then a bunch of arugula.

Stir that around until the arugula wilts, and you're done. Season it to taste with salt and black pepper.

As we were eating this, Sami proclaimed, "You know girls, if you gave Mommy a truck tire to cook, she'd find a way to make it delicious." Julia interpreted this as a back-handed insult to the quinoa/arugula thing (which she was devouring a large plate of), but I'm pretty sure he was just in love with the garlicky, savory sauce on the chicken. In fact, when I said there was more in the kitchen, he practically ran to serve himself. I love it when something simple like this has a big payoff in terms of pleasure. I highly recommend it.