On trying to make something exciting for dinner in between crying fits of your separation anxiety ridden baby after coming home from a long day

(EDITED: Angel Food Ministries is no longer in operation, if I find another service like this I will update!) 
 Boneless, skinless chicken breasts are my old stand by. I buy them when they're on sale and throw them in the freezer (a stand alone freezer is a mom's best friend.) So when I need to put together an exciting dinner for a guest, or I just want something a little on the fancy side and I don't have a lot of cash or extra help I pull out the chicken to thaw.

My favorite recipe to make is Chicken with Basil and Goat Cheese. It has a huge wow factor is simple, fast, and cheap! I modified this Barefoot Contessa recipe for use with boneless skinless chicken breasts because I always have them and I find them a lot easier to deal with- especially when you're eating with an infant on your lap.

Chicken with Basil and Goat Cheese - modified from Ina Garten's recipe at foodnetwork.com

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
4 oz pkg of Goat Cheese (make sure to get the type sold in a log shape and not crumbled)
4 large basil leaves (more if desired)
Salt
Pepper
Olive Oil
Parmesan Cheese (optional)

Preheat oven to 350. Cut a little pocket into each chicken breast. Insert a slice of the goat cheese with one basil leaf into each pocket. Salt and pepper the chicken. Drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle with Parmesan if desired.
Pop into the oven for 35 minutes or until cooked through.

Pull it out, let it rest for a few minutes and your guests will never know you spent 10 minutes prepping it and 10 bucks on the ingredients.

Generally, I serve this with pasta, and if I want to add a green vegetable I serve it with marinara sauce. If you pop open a jar of of the store bought stuff this entire meal takes a minimal investment of time and effort.

BUT if basil is on sale I'll make a pesto* with whatever nuts I happen to have around (I get freezer bags full of pecans from my grandfather every time I visit, and seem to attract gifts of walnuts and almonds for some reason.) If I serve it with pesto I like to change up the vegetable for something a little more colorful. I've tried both steamed carrots and red peppers and green beans.

In my case the hands down best thing is that it requires minimal actual prep time so you can take screaming baby from daddy as soon as you get the salmonella off your hands. Put him in charge of getting it out of the oven.

*Try making a huge batch of pesto and freezing the leftovers in an ice cube tray. Once the cubes set, wrap in plastic and put in a freezer bag. They keep indefinitely. I generally do this in the summer months when it is on sale so I can enjoy pesto in the winter. The cube will melt in the hot pasta. Reserve a tiny amount of the starchy pasta water to help mix.