When I say "Fast Food", I do not mean McDonalds, Wendy's, Chick-Fil-A....or (Tom Hortons for our northern friends!), I mean quick, easy, tasty meals for one.
We have a few nights during our week that we dub "Fend Night", where everyone must fend for themselves for dinner. With five people in our family, with crazy schedules and often going in 3 or 4 different directions in the evenings, at different times, and no one is really home at the same time, it makes a sit down dinner as a family a little difficult. I created Fend Night a few years ago when I just didn't feel like cooking and I knew my kids were capable of feeding themselves (not to mention my husband). This is/was usually a night to clean out the fridge of the various leftovers we have in the house. My son will always default and make a sandwich, my youngest will usually make herself a salad and top it with the grilled chicken that's always in my fridge, hubby cooks some kind of eggs...and me? Well, when I'm in the mood for food that I don't believe my family will touch...or if it contains black olives...I try to do that!
The other night, we were down to our last half of a chicken breast, a handful of tomatoes, some spinach, and my kalamata olives. Well, thats what gave birth to this dish. It took maybe 15 minutes from concept to cooked, and it was worth the few minutes time for a "gourmet" thrown together dish. I have been requested to make this for my family sometime.
Blistered Tomates & Veggies w/ Chicken & Fried Potatoes
1 Medium potato (your favorite kind)
Bacon Grease/Ghee/Avocado Oil or EVOO
1 cup grape tomatoes, halved
1/2 cup kalamata olive, pitted & halved
2 Cups fresh spinach leaves
Small Dash onion powder & garlic powder
3-5 oz of cooked chicken breast, sliced thin
Wash potato and prick with a fork. Wrap in a paper towel and microwave 3 to 5 minutes (depends on your microwave's wattage, you want to steam it enough that it is cooked through and fork tender, but not mushy). Slice in 1/4" rounds.
While the potato is cooking is a good time to halve your tomatoes and prep your veggies for the pan (but don't put them in yet!).
Heat a 8 or 10" skillet over medium heat, add a your oil/grease to the pan - about a Tablespoon or so. Allow to melt. Add potato slices in one layer in the pan and fry until golden on the first side, flip and fry until golden on the second side. Remove from pan and set aside on a plate.
Using the same pan, lay the tomatoes in the pan cut side down. Allow to sit and "fry" in the grease for about 3 minutes - the tomatoes will start to get pale...and when you try to flip one over it's blistered and browned. Shake around the pan to flip them all over, add the olives and the spinach, onion powder & garlic powder. Cover and let sit for a couple minutes to wilt the spinach. As the spinach starts to wilt, add the chicken slices and stir to coat with the juices/veggies. Cover and let spinach finish wilting.
Stir around and make sure everything is warmed through. Serve over or next to the potato slices. Salt & Pepper to taste.
NOTE: You can use fresh diced onion and fresh garlic if you prefer, if you do that, add the onions prior to the tomatoes and cook until starting to get translucent, THEN add the tomatoes and start at that step, adding the garlic when you add in the olives and spinach (this will keep the garlic from burning and getting that rancid taste that burnt garlic can get).
Also, I have also done this combination and used precooked frozen shrimp that I defrosted and added at the last minute just to warm up. This works just as well!
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