But if I'm honest, I know it doesn't have to be that hard. After all, I have a cast iron pan. The holy grail of cookware. The simplest and yet most useful of any pan I've ever owned. Cooking with it is not only a great way to get extra iron into your diet (truly--it seeps into the food and is very good for you), it also produces gorgeously browned, crisped food. It's a great place for the Maillard Reaction to play out. 

When I think about how much I have to get done over the next few months, I want to cry.

(In case you're interested: finishing the manuscript for my third cookbook, freelance pieces for The Washington Post and The Bold Italic, and planning my wedding).

And also scream with glee because it's fun and exciting stuff.

But also hide under the covers and refuse to come out, both because reality is overwhelming and because it is freezing in my apartment. 

Of course, I'm going to rally. I'm going to get it all done. I might have to do it wearing three sweaters and consuming enough caffeine to wake up a small village, but it'll happen. 

When I am deep in work, there's this severely annoying thing that happens around 5:30 PM: I realize I have absolutely no idea what the plan for dinner is. I haven't shopped. I haven't prepped. I certainly haven't preheated the oven. And the amount of work that I know will go into getting dinner for two on the table feels like more than I can bear. 

But if I'm honest, I know it doesn't have to be that hard. After all, I have a cast iron pan. The holy grail of cookware. The simplest and yet most useful of any pan I've ever owned. Cooking with it is not only a great way to get extra iron into your diet (truly--it seeps into the food and is very good for you), it also produces gorgeously browned, crisped food. It's a great place for the Maillard Reaction to play out. 

If you don't have a cast iron pan, I recommend getting one immediately. Specifically this one. When you get it, keep it clean, but don't wash it down with soap. Oil it lightly before storing. Use it often, but treat it gently. Love it and it will love you back. Hard.

Oh, and make this chicken. Especially when you feel overwhelmed by deadlines, pressure, and the world at large. Because at the end of the day (literally and figuratively), there is nothing better than a dinner that takes just minutes of hands-on effort, is healthy, and tastes like it was made with love.

I love making this with sweet potatoes (because if you know me, you know I love a sweet potato), but it would also be great with regular potatoes, cubed, peeled butternut squash, or even chunks of eggplant. 

Start with a cast iron pan.

Slick it with extra virgin olive oil, then land a couple of juicy chicken legs in the center of it.

Add some olive oil-coated chopped vegetables, salt, pepper, and some cherry peppers, if you dare.

Roast, garnish with parsley, and sigh a deep sigh of relief. Dinner is served.