Dear Mandolin, I love you.

Even though much of today was spent lounging round, watching movies & eating popcorn, I did need to come up with a "real" meal for dinner. We'd just finished up the rest of the left overs last night and it was time to have something new. The result was apricot glazed chicken, baked potatoes and steamed Mexican Squash.

First though, I want to introduce you to one of my most favorite kitchen tools. The Mandolin. You don't have to spend a wad of dough to get one either - this is a Martha Stewart one from Kmart - I bought it a few years ago for less than $10.

A mandolin will completely change the way you think about slicing veggies - particularly when you want nice, even thin slices. This is PERFECT for slicing carrots for stir fry, potatoes for au gratin dishes, and in this case, squash for steaming. A word of caution though, this puppy is crazy sharp. You're slicing along and all of a sudden you've reached the end of your item and the next thing you know you're slicing your finger tips off. But, if you are paying attention, the mandolin is an invaluable tool.

Just look what it did - I started with two of these little Mexican Squash - about 5" long:

I sliced off the blossom end - to use the stem end as a handle of sorts, and these perfectly even slices are what you end up with:

These perfect slices of squash made my inner perfectionist sing. As did this pan with steamer insert. These were some that my grandma bought before she passed away. I have no idea what they cost her but I bet it was a pretty penny.

But, it was really the chicken that was the star of tonight's dinner - here's the recipe of sorts:

Place 8 frozen chicken thighs, skin & all, into a crock pot with some salt & pepper.
Cook on high for a few hours, until they are almost, but not quite falling off the bones.
Remove the skin, take the meat off the bones and place it in a 9x13 pan.
Return the skin and the bones to the crock pot - add 3 cups of water and leave on high - this makes great chicken stock. Cook until the meat falls off the bones, strain & refrigerate for later use.

In a mixing bowl, combine the following - and I apologize in advance, I was too lazy today to get exact measurements so you'll have to wing it:

Most of a jar of apricot preserves
A generous splash of Worstershire
Add some dijon mustard
Finally, throw in several shots of Tabasco sauce

A lot of this is dependent upon your individual tastes, so add a little, mix and taste, adjust as needed.

Once the sauce is mixed up, pour over the chicken.

Bake for 20-30 minutes at 400 degrees. After that, it looks like this:

Serve with some yummy sides - like baked potatoes and steamed squash. Don't forget to top your potatoes with plenty of butter, sour cream and chives.

Hope you enjoy!!