Dinner dilemma

I am horrible at planning dinner. It is never a priority for me. I realize that as I build my little family, I am going to have to get better at this. I would have been devastated if I came home from school and asked my mom what was for dinner and she said, "I don't know? What do you want?" That is what I say nearly every day to my husband, Nate. I get frustrated, because he never has an answer. And when I do cook, he never seems really impressed. I call him picky, but maybe that is because I will eat ANYTHING. I hope my daughter gets my appetite.

No matter what, my mom had dinner on the table. I don't really recall eating out a lot. There was always something hot on the table, even if it was later in the evening than I would have liked as a growing teenager.

So, today when I was getting in my car at work (a little later than I like to on a Friday afternoon), my husband called.

"What's for dinner?"

"I don't know," I said.

It's not for lack of food in my house...because I spend a lot on groceries and pride myself on having a stocked pantry.

I start going through the file in my head. What can I make quick? He said he is starving.

In my defense, Nate doesn't eat lunch at a set time every day like I do. When he is on day work, he can be hungry for dinner at 3:30 p.m. when he gets home or at 6:30 p.m., which is way too late for me. So, even if I planned, it might not work out perfectly.

Tonight, I happened to have chicken breasts set out. I called my sister for a chicken and rice recipe she had made when I was visiting for New Year's Eve, but it took an hour to bake and sit, and that was too long for my starving man.

So, I saved it for another day and tried to improvise something quicker that would taste similar.
Here is what I came up with.

Chicken and Rice Skillet

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 1 pound)

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 can cream of chicken soup (plus one can water)

2 cups instant rice. uncooked

1/4 teaspoon onion powder

1/8 teaspoon pepper

1 small can mushrooms

1/3 cup shredded cheese (I used mozzarella)

Cut chicken breasts into 1-inch strips. Cook the chicken in 2 tablespoons of olive oil, until no longer pink inside. Add the chicken soup and can of water. Bring to a boil. Add the rice, onion powder and pepper. Bring to a boil and allow to boil for a few minutes so the rice cooks. Add mushrooms. Stir. Remove from heat and let it sit until the liquid is absorbed, about five minutes. Sprinkle with cheese. Serve with crumbled buttered crackers if desired.

Enjoy!