When the kids were growing up, everyone knew that Monday was “chicken day.” As Sarah got older, I let her loose in the spice cabinet and she would pick out some combination of spices to use on our chicken dinner. The game was that after her seasoning and my baking of the chicken, Mom, Dad and Jonathan would have to guess what spices were on the chicken. I think she hit her high with 17 spices used.

Anyway, I guess the tradition continues because if I ask John what he wants to eat on a Monday, he’ll say, “well, it’s Monday isn’t it? Let’s have chicken.” This past Monday as we were struggling to get back on the diet track we had pan roasted chicken breasts with roasted butternut squash and sauteed Brussels sprouts. I also made up a packet of chicken gravy mix.

Here’s how John does the chicken. He sears it on all sides and then places it in a low oven (250 degrees) until it’s done. And how does he know it’s done? He uses our thermapen. When the breast meat reads 155, it comes out of the oven. The meat is juicy and delicious.

Thermapen

The thermapen is pricy. When I bought ours several years ago, it cost $89. I’ve gotten them for Jon and Sarah for Christmas presents. According to America’s Test Kitchen, it is the best temperatuare probe to be bought. The probe itself is slender so it doesn’t poke big holes in the food, the temperature is accurate and it reads in a giant read-out in about 2 seconds. I highly recommend it.

The butternut squash I split in half, scoop out the seeds, add a little butter spray, salt, pepper and nutmeg. I bake it cut side up in a 400 degree oven for about 40 minutes. The time kind of depends on the size of squash. Find ones with a big neck. That’s where all the flesh is. Once the squash is tender all the way through, remove it from the oven and when you can handle it, scoop out the flesh. Mash it up. Season to taste.

So here’s my diet dinner for a Monday.

Pan roasted chicken, butternut squash and Brussels sprouts