Avocado, Tomato, and Heart of Palm Salad

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  This is a delicious, easy to prepare salad. It's a little spicy so if that's not your thing, you can omit the chipotle powder. This is great on its own or over a nice piece of baked chicken (or meat of your choice).
  
  Juice of 1 med lemon
  1 tsp white vinegar (optional)
  1 tsp salt
  1 tsp sugar
  1 tsp chipotle powder
  ½ tsp ground black pepper
  ½ large red onion, diced
  ½ c finely chopped cilantro
  2 med roma tomatoes, diced
  2 large ripe avocados, diced
  5 stalks Hearts of palm (or one large jar), thinly sliced
  1 med lime

  Whisk first 6 ingredients together until spices dissolve. Add everything else except the lime. Lastly, squeeze the lime juice into the bowl and fold the mix together.
  
  That's all there is to it.

  
  

Baked Chicken with Eggplant, Zucchini, & Tomato Ragout

I  had to come up with something relatively quick for dinner last night because my daughter had ballet/tap class in the afternoon and I didn't have a lot of time for dinner.  This is what I came up with - baked chicken with eggplant, zucchini, & tomato ragout, quinoa, and mixed greens salad with tomatoes, avocado and goat cheese.

For the chicken dish, I first diced the (1) eggplant, (1/2)onion, (2 cloves) garlic, (2 small) zucchini, and (4) roma tomatoes.

Next, I seasoned 4 chicken breasts (cut in half) with salt and pepper.  I heated an oven safe pan over high heat and added enough olive oil to cover the bottom of the pan.  Once the oil was hot, I added the chicken breasts and browned (5-6 minutes) each side.

I then removed the chicken, added the eggplant, a couple springs of rosemary and thyme, onion and a little more oil.  I lowered the heat a little and let that cook until the onions were translucent.  I then added the zucchini and half a cup of white wine.

Once the wine reduced by half, I added the tomatoes and some salt and pepper.  I then placed the chicken on top of the veggies and put the whole thing in the oven until the chicken was cooked through (about 15 minutes, but check the temp to make sure it's 160). I also poured myself a glass to drink while I finished preparing dinner.  (can't let it go to waste!)

Once the chicken was cooked, I removed it from the oven and let it rest for about 5 minutes.

I also prepared quinoa and salad to go with dinner while the chicken and ragout was cooking.  Here is the finished plate - not bad for a quick weeknight meal.