Well, I did something really crazy last night. I went to bed at 9 p.m. I don't remember the last night I did that. I was absolutely wiped after three late nights/early mornings prepping for photo shoots and I could feel myself getting sick. Part of me wishes I could be one of those hyper-productive people who can thrive on 6 hours of sleep. Alas, I'm not. On 6 hours, I am in a complete fog. Yesterday, I could barely string coherent sentences together. For better of for worse, I need 8 or 9 hours a night. Indulgent? Maybe. But totally necessary. (I don't know how you new moms do it!! I'm going to be a total wreck one day...)

But today I feel rested, and like a new person. A good thing, because I've got 12 people coming over for brunch in a few hours. And an apartment to clean and food to make...! But first I wanted to share with you guys a healthy, quick dinner idea. When I've asked you all what is the most difficult thing about trying to eat healthy, the #1 answer I get is finding the time. So here you go: a recipe that can be made start-to-finish in 30 minutes, made with affordable, easy-to-find ingredients that you can pick up on your way home from work. The chicken and the broccoli both roast for 20 minutes and can cook at the same time. The couscous takes 5 minutes total. So by the time dinner comes out of the oven, you can have the kitchen clean and the table set. Not bad at all!

Apricot-Dijon2

I also LOVE the sweet-spicy combination of Djion and apricot, and the little herbal note of the thyme. And the roasted broccoli and couscous are the perfect (easy) compliments to the meal. You can make this recipe with chicken breasts if you prefer, but it's going to need to cook longer, unless you buy chicken breast tenders (and I find that they're much less flavorful). Anyway - if you were wondering what to make for dinner tonight, I hope I've answered your question!

P.S. Thank you so much to those of you who took time to answer the questions I posed on the blog yesterday. I literally got teary reading some of your responses. You all are THE BEST!! Makes my job so fun. :) And if you haven't - I'd still love to hear from you!!

(Photos by Signe Birck; props by ABC Home; surface from PID Floors.)

[recipe:best-apricot-dijon-chicken-thighs-couscous-recipe][recipe:best-roasted-broccoli-recipe]