My husband and I have taken off on a little get away to one of our favorite destinations–the desert.  We love to visit the Palm Springs area a couple of times a year, and this was a great opportunity to escape the rain we've been experiencing where we live.  Only it was raining in Rancho Mirage when we arrived at our resort!

Like Camelot, it was only during the night though, and we woke up to blue skies.  The unit we are staying in is a one bedroom with a "mini" kitchen.  They weren't kidding about the "mini" part.  It may sound ridiculous, but when we travel and I know I will be doing some cooking, I bring my cast iron skillet.  The cookware that is supplied in most resort units is pretty lousy, and I want to use something I can count on.  Obviously if you are traveling by air, packing a cast iron skillet is not an option, but we drove down, so it was easy to slip it in a box in the back of the car.

There are so many delicious one pot/pan meals one can make in a cast iron skillet.  Last night we had chicken with tomatoes, arugula and orzo.  Click on the links for the recipes.  I substituted arugula for the spinach.  Two other meals I am planning are beef and peppers with brown rice, and chicken apple sausage with cherry tomatoes and gnocchi.  Each of these recipes takes less than ten minutes to prep and no more than 20-30 minutes to simmer on the stove top.  Everything in one pot, and healthy and delicious.

We always go out for a great breakfast or lunch and enjoy trying some of the fabulous local restaurants.  But at night, we both like to stay in and read or watch television.  Yesterday late afternoon we took a long walk around the resort and then came back to our unit where we lit a candle and had wine while we prepped our meal.  Next time in addition to my cast iron skillet I will bring a good knife!

Hope your week got off to a good start.