I cooked food.

It's kind of ridiculous how scarcely a full, nicely cooked meal happens in my life. The beginning of the year just drains my energy, leaving me at 5:00 void of creativity and effort. Last week I got fed up and decided that, dang it, I was going to make something. I asked my mom for a good idea and she suggested "Chicken Diane" which I love. Obviously, it wasn't quite as delicious when I made it as when my mom does, but it was nice to have a real meal. You want to make it? Here's how.

You will need:

4 large boneless skinless chicken breasts (I just got the tenders which has like 8 in a package)

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

2 Tablespoons olive oil

3 Tablespoons chopped green onions

Juice of one lime

2 Tablespoons of apple juice (or brandy if you're classy)

3 Tablespoons chopped parsley

2 teaspoons dijon mustard

1/2 cup of chicken broth

2 Tablespoons of butter

Then this is what you do: take out your anger on the chicken and tenderize those things until you're feeling an inner sense of calm again. Then you sprinkle it with the salt and pepper. Heat 1 T of the oil and 1 T of the butter in a big skillet. (Butter makes everything better.) Cook chicken on high heat for four minutes per side. After that, transfer to a warm serving platter and cover to keep warm. Now you have to make the sauce that you pour on top.

All the ingredients ready to go. 

Turn down the heat to medium and add the green onions, apple juice, parsley, and mustard to the pan. Whisk that together, then add the chicken broth. Add the remaining butter. (Remember, butter makes EVERYTHING better.) Pour that combination over the chicken. Oh, PS, you've made some linguini noodles, so put the chicken over those.. (For timing sake, turn on the heat to boil the water and then start doing the chicken on the stove, so they finish at about the same time.) Last but not least, cut up that lime and squeeze the juice over the chicken to be extra pretentious. 

After about 15 minutes of running around and flipping chicken and chopping things and trying not to burn yourself, voila! You have a delicious meal. You no longer feel like a college kid because a frozen pizza has not even materialized out of the freezer today, and you feel pretty great about that. I say that you should enjoy this whole shindig with a glass (or two) of wine. 

Now all you need is someone to help you cut the bread. (Clearly that's the most important part.)