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Do you ever get home from work and you’re so tired but so hungry and you want to eat something delicious but don’t want to spend a ton of time in front of the stove? Of course you do. Because I feel that way all the time. I’ve been so bad at going grocery shopping once a week, so that means when it comes to dinner I’m either left to my own devices and forced to eat chips or I have to schlep to the grocery store (at RUSH HOUR OMG) and figure out what’s cooking.

Did this entry just turn into a rant? I totally didn’t mean for that to happen. Oops.

Anyway, the bottom line is that we all want (and, let’s be honest, deserve) to eat a delicious home cooked meal that doesn’t take endless amounts of time or energy to get on the plate. Right? Right. Well, I just might have the answer. Maybe. Ok, I do.

Orange balsamic roast chicken.

Imma let that marinate with you for a bit…Ok, good to go? Good.

This recipe calls for four ingredients (HOLY MOSES!) and takes about 20 to 25 minutes to make. It’s easy peasy and you could probably be half asleep and still pull this off. This recipe uses skin-on (no groaning! The skin gets so crispy and delicious) halved chicken legs. I know, I’m not the biggest fan of dark meat but this might have converted me. The dark meat gets coated in a tangy orange and sweetly bitter (not bitter sweet, ha) balsamic vinegar. Steam some broccoli and cook up some rice while this is roasting in the oven, and you’ve got yourself a pretty gourmet dinner. That’s so gourmet, bro.

Orange Balsamic Roast Chicken

4 skin-on chicken legs
2 oranges
1 tbs olive oil
2 tbs balsamic vinegar
1 tbs unsalted butter

1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit and heat olive oil in cast iron or oven-safe skillet. Season chicken legs with salt and pepper. Once skillet and oil is hot, place the chicken legs skin side down and cook for about 7 minutes or until the skin is golden brown. Meanwhile, cut one orange into wedges and the other in half.

2. Remove chicken from skillet and discard the fat. Place chicken, uncooked side down, back in the skillet with the orange wedges. Roast in the oven for about 15 minutes or until cooked through.

3. Remove chicken from the skillet again. Place skillet with oranges and balsamic vinegar on medium heat. Squeeze the juice from the halved oranges. Stir sauce and scrape up any browned bits for about 2 minutes then add butter until melted. Place chicken back in pan to coat.

It’s no secret that for the past week the whole country has been laughing at how us Californians have been overreacting to how cold it’s been. Seriously though…it was freaking cold. Oh, believe me, I have spent some serious time in for real cold weather (four years in Nebraska, aka the ice box of our great nation.) I remember the days when I’d celebrate if the temperature hit 30 degrees. Well, after being back in California for about five years my body has quickly acclimated to our beautiful Mediterranean-like climate. And believe me, 50 degrees is freaking cold. But, after one week of roughing it in chilly winds and instagramming the frost on our car windows, we have been rewarded with summery 80 degree temperatures. Hallelu, child.

I’m not going to lie. I’m not especially fond of crazy heat when it’s supposed to be winter. My summer clothes are packed away and my toes ain’t ready for surprise sandal weather. However, I discovered a way to beat the heat with fresh wintery fruits. Behold, the winter citrus salad.

I guess the warm weather came at a good time since I’ve been stuffing myself with not-so-healthy foods. So…time to detox with a salad! How California, am I right? We’re inviting arugula, grapefruit, oranges, pomegranate, and goat cheese to this salad party. Oh, and we’re making a super easy dressing to…well…dress it. Dress it to the nines.

Let’s de-seed the pomegranate. Pro tip: fill a bowl with water and, with the halved fruit in the water, work the seeds out. The flesh of the fruit is almost foam-like, so it’s really easy to tear in half and get the seeds out. No mess, no stained cutting board or surface. You might want to still wear an apron in case a few seeds burst. I have a couple stains on my arms, but they just look like purple freckles.

This salad was perfect for today. Not only because it was refreshing, but the juicy citruses almost don’t belong as a winter fruit. Kind of like how today was uncharacteristically hot. Trust me though, this salad is good. The arugula is bitter and peppery, the oranges and grapefruit tart, creamy goat cheese, and the dressing was full and slightly sweet. I totally ate this at the table (I hardly ever eat at the table) with an iced tea while people watching. Ok, maybe I was spying on my neighbors with Ollie. She knows all the neighborhood gossip.

Winter Citrus Salad with Goat Cheese and Dressing

A bunch of arugula
1 grapefruit
1 orange
1 pomegranate
Goat cheese

For the dressing

2 tbs olive oil
1 tbs honey
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1 tsp lemon juice
Salt and pepper to taste

1. Place bunch of arugula in a medium-sized bowl. De-seed pomegranate and set aside. Peel the skin and pith off the grapefruit and orange. Slice fruit into chunks and place in bowl with arugula. Toss in pomegranate seeds.

2. In a small bowl, mix olive oil and honey together. Add in mustard, I used a grainy Dijon, and lemon juice. Continue to mix until well incorporated. Season with salt and pepper. Toss salad with dressing.