Cooking Dinner

Last night it was my turn to cook dinner. I decided I would try a new chicken francese recipe I saw on Instagramthat I have never tried before. I stopped at grocery store on my way home from school and picked up the necessary ingredients. I carried the groceries inside, cleaned my produce, chopped my vegetables, and pounded my chicken cutlets until they were thin. I seasoned some sliced potatoes and drizzled them in olive oil before putting them in the oven, knowing they would take the longest to cook. Next, I put a mix of white wine, onions, and heavy cream into a frying pan. I seared the cutlets in this mixture until they just started to turn golden brown. Lastly, I steamedsome broccoli florets in the microwave. I put my dirty dishes in the sink to clear off some counter space in order to serve my family their dishes. My parents raved over the flavor of the chicken, but were not as thrilled about the mess I left near the stove.  

Instagram (noun): social media platform primarily used to share photos

grocery store (noun): a store primarily used for the sale of food products

ingredients (noun): any of the food or substances combined to make a particular dish 

produce (noun): things/food that has been grown or produced, especially through farming

seared (verb): fried quickly at a high temperature to retain juices in subsequent cooking 

steamed (adjective): having been cooked by steam 

raved (verb): talk wildly about or rant 

Vocabulary exercise 

Which word fits in the blank more closely?

I took a trip to the ____________ to pick up some fresh vegetables for dinner. 

A) produce B) grocery store 

I prefer my vegetables _________ rather than roasted 

A) steamed B) raved

I posted a photo on ___________ to show my friends and family my new dog. 

A) ingredients B) Instagram 

Bonus challenge: Create ONE sentence using THREE of the vocabulary terms above correctly!

Because this was a story that I told in the past tense, there are many examples of passed tense verbs in this passage. A verb is used to describe an action, state, or occurrence, forming the main part of the predicate of a sentence. Therefore, a past tense verb is an action state or occurrence that is described in terms of the past. A good way to spot a past tense verb is by looking at either the words that come before the verb, or the letters that the verb ends with (like -ed). Write to me about something you did last night (the past) while using six past tense verb examples.