Updated April 25, 2014.

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Chicken, mashed potatoes and green beans are what's for dinner tonight. Total comfort food. I've picked a recipe for roasted chicken breasts, found a lesson on perfecting your mashed potatoes, and found a nice dressed up green bean dish. I also found a salad that's perfect for almost any meal.


Each recipe comes from the Food Channel at About.com.

You can serve this meal family style or you can serve it by the plate. I suggest one chicken breast per person, one serving of potatoes (about half a cup), lots of green beans, and be sure to save room for the salad.

• Roasted Garlic and Oregano Chicken Breasts
• How to Make Mashed Potatoes
• Green Beans Amandine
• Danilo's Everyday Salad

Tonight's Entree - Roasted Chicken Breasts

Chicken is an excellent source of protein. I chose this recipe, created by our Southern Food Guide at About.com, because it doesn't need any additional fat, it gets extra flavor from garlic and oregano so no extra sauce or topping is needed.

Side Dishes

I think a helping of mashed potatoes is the perfect accompaniment for roasted chicken. Mashed potatoes are easy to make. Using cream makes the potatoes rich and thick, but if you want to avoid the saturated fats, you can use low-fat milk and still have a nice side dish. Potatoes are a good source of potassium, and they've got some vitamin C, but they're also energy-dense so be sure to watch your portion size.
Like most green and colorful vegetables, green beans are good for you.

They can be a little boring, so I chose a recipe that gets a little more flavor and texture from almonds, lemon juice and garlic.

Add a Salad

I like to serve fresh salad with a meal for a couple of reasons. It adds more fruits and vegetables to your meal, and it adds interest by introducing a cooler temperature and crunch. Danilo's everyday salad also has nice velvety texture with a bit of mild goat cheese and avocado. The goat cheese gives you some calcium and the avocado is rich in monounsaturated fat. It also has tomatoes that'll give you some vitamin C, vitamin A and lycopene.

Complete Your Meal

This meal is complete just the way it is, but you can add some warm whole grain dinner rolls (choose 100-percent whole grain to get the extra fiber). Serve dinner with water, non-fat milk or maybe a glass of white wine if you drink alcohol. If you want dessert, I suggest a small dish of flavorful frozen yogurt, and maybe a cup of coffee.

Shopping List

Here's what you'll need to have on hand for tonight's meal, enough to serve four people:

• chicken breast halves (with the skin)
• Yukon gold or russet potatoes
• romaine lettuce
• green beans
• almonds
• tomato
• avocado
• lemon juice
• garlic
• olive oil
• butter
• mild goat cheese
• cream and/or milk
• dried oregano
• cayenne pepper
• white balsamic vinegar
• honey
• any flavor frozen yogurt
• salt and pepper
• low-fat milk, white wine, water, or your favorite beverage, plus regular or decaf coffee

Preparation Tips

You may have your own method of food preparation, but this is how I prepare this meal. The chicken takes about 35 minutes to prepare, so start it first. Make sure you wash your hands and follow food safety practices before moving on to the rest of the meal. While the chicken's in the oven, you can get your potatoes peeled sliced and into a pot of boiling water. Next, start the green beans -- they also go into a pot of boiling water. While the beans and potatoes are cooking, you can make the salads and get the table set. Then it will be time to mash the potatoes, finish the green beans and then you can take the chicken out of the oven.

Yuck! I Don't Like This Meal

Awww... I do my best, but if this one doesn't sound good to you, I've got lots more healthy dinners to choose from: Healthy Family Meals