By Chloe turns eleven in three weeks. Jayden turns eight. Elijah turns three. Sarah turns thirty-one. The Mitchell birthday season approaches — the annual sprint of celebrations that runs from February through March and leaves me emotionally drained and financially lighter and grateful for every single candle.
Elijah starts the milestone preschool year. The milestones say he starts preschool at age 3 (March 2023). He's already at Little Hands three days a week. The milestone must mean full-time preschool — five days. The transition from three days to five days is coming. The transition means: Mama is fully liberated. Mama's knees can rest five days a week instead of two. Mama's blood pressure can have the break it's been needing for three years. The liberation is necessary. The liberation is overdue. The liberation is Lorraine Mitchell, at sixty-whatever, finally being told: you've done enough. You can sit down. You can rest. You can knit and watch TV and not hold a toddler for eight hours while your daughter works. You can be Nana without being Nana-as-full-time-daycare. You can just be. Lorraine Mitchell has never just been. Lorraine Mitchell has always been DOING. The being is going to require practice.
The storefront. I looked again. The Gallatin Pike space is still available (six months later — the commercial real estate market in East Nashville moves slower than I thought). 600 square feet. Small dining counter. $1,800/month. The numbers: if I quit the dental office and go full-time with Sarah's Table, the business revenue ($52,000 last year, growing at 30% — projected $67,000 this year) could cover: the storefront rent ($21,600/year), ingredients ($15,000/year), Wanda and Patricia's pay ($12,000/year combined), vehicle costs ($5,000/year), and leave approximately $13,000 for me. $13,000. That's $1,083/month. That's less than half my dental salary. That's a pay CUT. That's the math of the brave thing: it costs more than the safe thing, at least at first. The question is: can I afford to be brave? The other question is: can I afford not to be?
I made Mama's chicken and rice. The ugly beige thinking food. The food for when the brain is working harder than the hands and the hands need something simple so the brain can do its job. The chicken and rice simmered while I ran the numbers on a napkin (ANOTHER napkin — the business started on a napkin and is now being planned on one, the napkin is the Mitchell business tool). The numbers are tight. The numbers are scary. The numbers are not impossible. The numbers say: the brave thing is expensive but the brave thing has a trajectory and the trajectory is up and the up is where Earline and Lorraine and Chloe and the cornbread have always been pointing. Up. Always up.
The napkin math was still drying when I realized I’d made the same meal again — simple, beige, brain-freeing chicken — and it was exactly right. When the numbers are scary and the question is “can I afford to be brave,” you don’t need a complicated dinner; you need something that gets out of your own way and lets you think. This is the kind of chicken I reach for on those nights: on the table in fifteen minutes, light enough that I don’t feel heavy going into the hard conversations, and familiar enough that it feels like Mama is still in the room.
15 Skinny Chicken Dinners Ready in 15 Minutes
Prep Time: 5 min | Cook Time: 10 min | Total Time: 15 min | Servings: 4
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts, sliced thin (about 1/2 inch)
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1/2 cup low-sodium chicken broth
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped (for serving)
Instructions
- Season the chicken. Pat chicken slices dry with a paper towel. In a small bowl, combine garlic powder, smoked paprika, onion powder, salt, pepper, and thyme. Sprinkle evenly over both sides of the chicken.
- Heat the skillet. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering, about 1 minute.
- Cook the chicken. Add the seasoned chicken in a single layer. Cook without moving for 3–4 minutes until golden on the bottom, then flip and cook another 3 minutes until cooked through and internal temperature reaches 165°F.
- Build the pan sauce. Reduce heat to medium. Add minced garlic and cook 30 seconds, stirring constantly. Pour in chicken broth and lemon juice, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan.
- Simmer and finish. Let the broth reduce for 1–2 minutes until slightly thickened. Return chicken to the pan and toss to coat in the sauce.
- Serve. Plate immediately and scatter fresh parsley over the top. Serve with rice, steamed vegetables, or whatever the napkin math allows tonight.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 218 | Protein: 38g | Fat: 6g | Carbs: 2g | Fiber: 0g | Sodium: 390mg