Not Just Your Average Chicken & Potatoes Dinner

I'm not a big eater of beef or pork (bacon excluded) so we eat a lot of chicken in our house. Eating chicken several times a week can get BORING so I try to mix up the preparation and the types of chicken pieces I use. Most of the time I don't decide on what I'm cooking for dinner until the day of so the preparation depends heavily on what I have in the fridge and pantry. This week I happened to buy a lot of fresh herbs: parsley, cilantro, sage, rosemary, and thyme; so tonight's dinner was inspired by these. The end result was Baked Chicken Breast with Fresh Herb Pesto, Roasted Lemon Parsley Potatoes, and Whole Roasted Brussel Sprouts. It sounds simple but believe me, everything was packed with flavor. More importantly, it only takes about 1.5 hours to prep and cook everything and clean up is minimal because everything is cooked in the oven. The recipes are below.

Baked Chicken Breast with Fresh Herb Pesto

Ingredients:

Handful of fresh parsley
Handful of fresh cilantro
1 sprig fresh sage
1 sprig fresh thyme
1 sprig fresh rosemary
1 clove of garlic or 1/2 tablespoon crushed garlic
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil, plus 2 tablespoons
2 skin-on, bone-in, split chicken breasts
1 teaspoon of sea salt
1/2 cup low sodium chicken broth

Instructions: Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Place all ingredients except chicken and salt in a small food processor and blend until a paste is created. Rinse and pat dry chicken with paper towel. Place chicken in glass baking dish and rub about 1 tablespoon of olive oil on each breast. Then sprinkle each breast with salt. Using your hands, gently spread the pesto paste underneath the skin of the chicken breasts. Spread the remaining paste all over the chicken. Finally, pour the chicken broth in the bottom of the glass dish. Bake for 50-55 minutes or until meat thermometer reads 165 degrees. Let the chicken rest at least 10 minutes before slicing to allow the juices to redistribute.

Roasted Lemon Parsley Potatoes

 

When I tell you I couldn't stop eating these potatoes I'm not lying. They are utterly delicious, especially with the hint of lemon and slightly charred parsley.

Ingredients:

About 2 pounds small red and white potatoes

About 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil

Handful of parsley

Juice from 1/2 lemon

1 teaspoon sea salt

1 teaspoon black pepper

1 teaspoon dried thyme

                                                       1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

Instructions: Preheat oven to Convection 375 degrees (or 400 if you don't have Convection). Wash and pat dry potatoes. Cut potatoes into equally-sized quarters and place in glass dish that has been sprayed with cooking spray. Pour olive oil over potatoes and sprinkle with all other ingredients. Stir using your hands to make sure potatoes are coated with all ingredients. Bake for 30-35 minutes stirring half way through cooking to make sure no potatoes stick to the glass dish.

Whole Roasted Brussel Sprouts

These brussel sprouts are super easy to make and tasty to eat with just about anything.

Ingredients:

About a pound of fresh brussel sprouts

1 teaspoon sea salt

1 teaspoon black pepper

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

Instructions: Preheat oven to Convection 375 (or 400 if you don't have Convection). Spread olive oil and spices generously on sprouts. Pour sprouts into glass baking dish and bake for 35-40 minutes or until tender.

Enjoy!