M'm M'm (Better than Campbell's) Good

So today I met my former paralegal A for lunch. It was so nice to see her again and catch up. What struck me halfway through lunch was that I never really got to know her as a person, and for the first time, we were talking like equals. I liked it. I know she only worked for the firm for 8 months or so and that it takes time to get to know somebody, but it was nevertheless a surprise to discover that I genuinely like her. I originally agreed to go to lunch because it was the right thing to do. I have my own opinions on her skills as a paralegal, but when it comes down to it, she did a lot of work for me, and I appreciate all of her help. At the end, I found myself agreeing and even looking forward to our next get-together.

We went to Marie Callender's at her request. She is apparently a big fan of the place. I'm not. Ironically, we both ended up ordering the same thing, a petite salad with greens, Gorgonzola, candied walnuts, and cranberries. The only difference was that I requested the balsamic vinaigrette on the side. It was absolutely delicious. Then again, how do you honestly mess up a salad? Luckily for me, I think they did do so. There was no way the cheese on there was Gorgonzola, because a) there was no blue color to it, and b) I liked it. I think it was feta instead, which was a happy mistake, since I'm not the biggest blue cheese fan. Either that or it was the least ripe blue cheese I've ever seen. The candied walnuts were absolutely perfect--toasted but not overly sweet. The dried cranberries added a nice tang and the dressing was surprisingly good for a chain restaurant.

A thought the salad was huge and actually took a to-go box with leftovers, but the reality was that it came out on a bread plate. I went back to the office and ate a sandwich. A salad does not a lunch make.

Our computer server crashed this afternoon, so I left early. It worked out well, since Jim is still sick, so I was able to go to the grocery store and pick up some items: chicken and celery for chicken noodle soup, cough drops, and OJ. I got garlic, red bell pepper, and asparagus too, but that's only because the latter two were on sale and the first was needed.

I brushed one bone-in with skin chicken breast with EVOO and liberally salted and peppered the thing before roasting it at 350 degrees for 40 minutes. I covered the baking pan with aluminum foil, but because I did it incorrectly, it ended up being a total waste--the grease slipped between the two sheets and I had to wash the whole thing out anyway. Oh well.

Oh yeah, I forgot to start out by saying that I made Ina's chicken noodle soup recipe, which was super super easy and other than the time it took to roast the chickie, very fast. All I did after chickie cooked was to heat up some boxed chicken broth (yeah, Ina makes her own, but no way am I going to ever do that), simmered carrot, celery, and egg noodles in them until cooked, and then added the chicken, which I diced after removing the skin and bones, and parsley. Oh, and black pepper. That was it! I baked off a bit of garlic bread, and Jim was good to go.

I have no idea if it was better than Campbell's, but it looked just like the picture in the cookbook, and at least it was homemade. That counts, right? At least there was less salt in it! And I used organic, free-range broth.