Photo: toastforbrekkie

Tonight was one of those nights that I wanted to reach for a box of mac-n-cheese and be done with it. And that was exactly what I was going to do, dammit. Because I was tired. Because I felt totally uncreative. Because I couldn’t muster one more bit of energy to do one more good thing for my family. And then I realized… I didn’t HAVE a fracking box of mac-n-cheese.

I thought about letting Atticus starve. It was only one night, right? What harm could it do? And then I realized that I’d starve too. And I wasn’t about to let that happen. So I turned to a family favorite. Lemon Caper Butter. It’s a sauce my husband taught me that always makes me feel like I’m sitting down to a proper meal—with a white tablecloth and fine china. Even though it takes 3 minutes—and my tablecloth is covered with washable marker and my dishes don’t match.

It uses three ingredients. Yes, you heard me right. Three! And you can spoon it over chicken, fish, or even pasta (now there’s a great mac-n-cheese alternative). Tonight, I used chicken. And egg noodles. Because that’s what was in the cupboard.

Lemon Caper Butter

(can be served to kids 10+ mos)

1 cup organic unsalted butter

2 tbsp fresh squeezed organic lemon juice

2 tbsp organic capers, drained

salt and pepper to taste

1. Melt butter in saucepan over low heat. Be careful not to brown.

2. Add capers and lemon juice and warm until heated through.

Note: If you’d like to make Chicken with Lemon Caper Butter like I did tonight, I took a couple of skinless and boneless chicken breasts, dredged them in flour, and sauteed them in a little olive oil over medium-high heat until lightly brown on both sides and cooked all the way through. Then I plated the breast atop the egg noodles and spooned the sauce over the whole dish. Atticus, of course, ate only the noodles, the sauce, and the capers. And everyone else’s capers, too. But no chicken. Oh, well, more for me. I’m not going to bed hungry.