Roast Chicken Club with Peaches, Bacon & Brie

I hate to sound like a broken record here but- I feel like I don’t have enough hours in the day. Or the week. It’s times like these that I find myself grumbling jealously about my beloved co-blogger, Chelsea, and her 3-day work weeks. Huff, huff. It’s not fair. I wish I could be at home cooking right now, taking my dog for a walk, grumblegrumblegrumble…

It’s not fair to say that, of course. It’s not Chels’ fault that I’m stuck at the office while she scored a sweet part-time gig- this is all 100% my choice. In fact, because I chose to be stuck at the office, I am now setting myself up for even more working hours as I face an impending promotion. So, like, what are you complaining about, Finn? YOU CHOSE THIS.

It brings me back to my jar analogy from last week. Would I spent more time cooking and photographing if I, too, only worked three days a week? Or, would I, just like Chelsea, find that the extra time just kind of- gets sucked up, with other stuff.

The latter, for sure. No question.

When Chels talks about laziness being her biggest impediment to having a queue full of amazing recipes, it is no less an impediment than my lack of time- they’re just different. Given a long weekend or a day off… I would love to say I am the picture of productivity but the truth is, I’m not. Not even a little bit.

Perfect example- I got off work early yesterday to go to the dentist. When I got home, an hour earlier than I usually would, did I rush into the kitchen and start whipping up one of the recipes I have forever tested but never taken pictures of?

No. Of course not. I cracked a bottle of wine and watched the Canucks play the first game of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. And then I went to bed at like 9pm. It was awesome. Unproductive, yes, but all in all a rather enjoyable evening. (even though the Canucks lost… 🙁 )

So, all too often, we are our own worst enemies. But- as the lovely Melissa McCarthy taught us in Bridesmaids, we’re also our own salvation. We’re the only ones who can help ourselves. Soooo…

This weekend I will take pictures of what I cook. I will not get hungry and lazy and just dive right in to my meals. I will go to the gym again for the first time in forever. I will write a grocery list before I go to the store, saving me from returning two or even three times later in the day, when I inevitably forget something.

And until then, I will eat sandwiches and pizzas for dinner. Because, dammit, they are easy and if you limit yourself to whatever you have in your fridge, you can come up with some surprisingly good combinations. It’s like Iron Chef: Weeknight Foraging.

Sometimes, having this limitation causes me to stumble on really good combinations. Combinations that might not have jumped right out at me otherwise. (I know that’s how Chels came up with her Bacon-Mango Pizza which I LOVE)

Flavour pairings so good that they make you stop and actually take pictures to document it all because um, the world needs to know.

Chicken Club Sandwich. Sub out tomatoes for peaches. Equally juicy, slighly sweeter, less acidic. Sweet peaches + salty bacon = wow. Add creamy brie and some peppery greens. Lightly toasted sourdough, crunchy crust. Yeah, now I’m just naming ingredients. I’m walking you through it.

An unexpected combination that wowed me enough to get my butt off the couch and actually do some blogging work- now that is something.