Andrew, our oldest, just marched off to his first day of kindergarten today. Tears were shed by me, but he couldn’t have been more happy or excited to be going back to school. It’s just hard for me to swallow the pill that he’s not mine to take care of all day anymore. I’m not sure who’s going to miss him more – myself, or his little brother William.
Back to school also means busier evenings with after school activities, homework, and sports all going on simultaneously. So, a one dish dinner – in which everything is thrown together and roasted, is always a great trick to have up your sleeve for a weeknight meal. Ina’s original recipe calls for all bone-in chicken breasts, but my little ones love their chicken drumsticks, so I just use a whole cut-up chicken instead. The white wine and lemon juice, combined with the drippings from the chicken create and awesome pan sauce. And the potatoes and Brussels sprouts just soak up all that delicious flavor while they cook.
And if there does happen to be any leftover chicken, it makes the most awesome chicken salad sandwiches to go into a lunchbox the next day. Winner, winner, chicken dinner.
Roasted Lemon Chicken & Potatoes
1/4 cup olive oil
9 cloves garlic, minced
1/3 cup dry white wine
zest from 2 lemons
2 Tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 tsp dried oregano (I used 1 Tbsp fresh)
1 tsp fresh thyme leaves, minced
1 lb Brussels sprouts, halved
2 lbs baby red potatoes, halved
1 chicken, cut into 8 pieces
1 lemon
kosher salt
fresh ground black pepper
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Warm the olive oil in a small saucepan over medium-low heat, add the garlic, and cook for just 1 minute but don’t allow the garlic to turn brown. Off the heat, add the white wine, lemon zest, lemon juice, oregano, thyme, and 1 teaspoon salt.
Pour the sauce into a 9×13 baking dish. Add the potatoes and Brussels sprouts, and season with salt and pepper.
Pat the chicken dry and place them skin side up over the sauce and veggies. Brush the chicken breasts with the olive oil and sprinkle them liberally with salt and pepper. Cut the lemon into wedges and tuck it among the pieces of the chicken.
Bake uncovered, for 30 to 40 minutes, depending on the size of the chicken pieces, until the chicken is done and the skin is lightly browned. If the chicken isn’t browned enough, put it under the broiler for 2 minutes. Cover the pan tightly with aluminum foil and allow to rest for 10 minutes. Sprinkle with salt and serve hot with the vegetables and pan juices.
Source: adapted from How Easy Is That? by Ina Garten
