I have been sick this week and didn’t feel much like cooking or eating. On top of that I am scheduled to have a diagnostic test next week which puts me on a low-fiber diet. Low-fiber, not a really good thing if you are trying to feel sated while eating low-calorie. So probably I am going to pretty grumpy for the next five days.

Anyway, this dinner is a throwback to when I was growing up. At our house we always had mashed potatoes. It really didn’t matter what else was being served. Green beans were always the vegetable of choice. In the New Jersey summers my father would grow green beans along with his tomatoes and lima beans. He had the most impressive tomatoes. He grew them in cages and they would top 6 feet high and were resplendent with delicious red orbs. I think he loved those tomato plants more than his kids.

Once again I digress. I made the mashed potatoes with russet potatoes and whipped them with “I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter, Light” and a quarter cup of low-fat milk. I made Brussels sprouts for John, and I frenched a bunch of green beans just for me. The gravy is from a packet and weighs in at about 20 calories for 1/4 cup. John did his usual masterful job on the chicken. So low-cal, low-fiber dinner = success.

Pan roasted chicken with frenched green beans, mashed potatoes, and gravy