Two tomatoes, two peppers, a single yoghurt (completely shocking in this house!), half a tub of taramasalata, a portion of stew, 5 sachets of spice mixes that I was completely sure were in date (expired mid 2018 and rock hard), a small pack of soft tacos, and the end of the turkey gravy.

That’s the casualty list from the fridge and press clear out. Not great, but not totally horrible. Must do better. A good clean sweep to start the new year with though.

I’ve still got some things in the fridge “danger zone” so dinners will be very imaginative for the next few days. The freezer is jammed solid, and I’ve at least a kilo of cheese left to get through.

After a couple of nights of “Inna bun” dinners, something a little better was needed.

Two chicken breasts, sliced into mini fillets, tossed in well seasoned flour, in to a hot pan to brown.

Transfer to oven dish and into preheated oven at 170C. Deglaze pan with a little hot water, add a stock cube, a small finely chopped onion and a lot of garlic (4 cloves for us). Saute down til most of the liquid is absorbed, and squash in a can of plum tomatoes. Mix through. I added a tablespoon of tomato puree that needed using up, too. Adjust seasoning.

Don’t cook the sauce further as it’ll taste too flat when it comes out of the oven. Now would be a good time to add some torn fresh basil if there’s some in the fridge.

Pour sauce over chicken, tear a ball of fresh mozzarella over it, and back in the oven for about twenty mins.

I usually serve with mash and plain steamed broccoli to make the most of the sauce.

Usually we have some friends over for New Year dinner and drinks, but it’s a quiet one for us this time for various reasons. I don’t do resolutions, but I hope the year ahead is good to us all, and that we’re all smiling this time next year.