Crispy Chicken Thighs and Pan Roasted Potatoes

Hello, friends! Last Monday of the school year for us, so we are all ready for this week to end…then on to SUMMER BREAK! I guess you guys can tell I’m just a little bit excited about that one.  So last night I made this delicious one pan dish (plus a couple of sides). Crispy chicken and perfectly cooked buttery potatoes? Yes, please! It was a big hit and I have just enough left for a leftover meal this week!

Crispy Chicken Thighs and Pan Roasted Potatoes

Ingredients

4-6 chicken thighs or breasts (bone in and skin on)
1 small bag, about 20 small whole yellow potatoes
1/2 stick of butter =)
liberal amounts of salt and pepper to your taste

Directions

Preheat oven to 350. Melt a tablespoon of butter in a cast iron pan. Season each side of the chicken with salt and pepper.

Place the chicken skin side down and cook until it is crispy, about 10 minutes depending on the size of your chicken. Flip to other side and cook for 5 minutes. Remove chicken and add the rest of the butter to the pan. Then add the potatoes.

Situate the chicken on top of the potatoes. The potatoes should be like a bed for your chicken. Place in the oven and cook for about 45-60 minutes or until potatoes are tender and chicken thighs are cooked to 165.

Serve with another veggie and in possibly macaroni and cheese. This is a Sunday dinner, so why not!

img_7967img_7970

Easy Weeknight Chicken Pot Pie

Hey friends! I hope you are having a great evening! My family LOVES  pot pies (who doesn’t?), so I am always finding creative and easy ways to make them. You can make this easy version during the week using a variety of store bought shortcuts.  I thought there would be some leftovers, but the family gobbled it all up!

Ingredients

Two 10 1/2-ounce cans of reduced sodium cream of chicken soup
4 small potatoes diced
One bag frozen vegetables (carrot, corn and green bean mix)
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 rotisserie chicken, meat shredded, skin and bones discarded
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 can biscuit dough

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

In a medium to large dutch oven, add a bit of oil to your pan. Over med.high heat, cook your potatoes until just fork tender, about 8 minutes.

Add together the cream of chicken soup, frozen vegetables, shredded chicken, and your seasonings in the dutch oven. I also added a couple tablespoons of water. I cooked until everything was warmed through, about 15 minutes or so.

img_6684

Cover the pot pie filling with your biscuits.

img_6686

Bake until the biscuits are golden brown, 15 to 20 minutes.

img_6692

Recipe Review- Chicken Fricasse

So I made another recipe from the beautiful book, The Chef Next Door, by Amanda Freitag. She has a whole section on low and slow recipes, which I love. This recipe was shown 2 ways- on the stove top and slow cooker! You know I love a good crock pot meal on a  busy night! I assembled everything in the morning before I took the girls to school. I served it on top of rice, but pasta would work, too. So good! The girls even ate the green olives and capers! Working on a stuffed mushroom dish up later tonight or tomorrow!

Chicken Fricassee

Ingredients

3 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup tomato sauce or stewed tomatoes
1 yellow, orange, and red pepper- julienned
1 Spanish onion
6 garlic cloves, diced
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
8 ounces of beer or white wine (I used wine)
1 1/2 cups Chicken Stock
20 green olives, pitted
5 small Yukon gold potatoes, quartered
4 bone-in, skin on chicken legs (I used thighs, but breasts would work)
1/4 cup drained capers
2 limes, cut in to wedges (I did not use lime)

Slow Cooker-

Combine everything in the crock pot. In the directions, she cooks it on high until it boils, then turns it down. Since I was working all day, I just put it on low until I got home. The meat was falling off the bone. If you are adding capers and lime, add them right at the end002

Cauliflower Couscous

So I made this yummy veggie one pot wonder yesterday. Eat a plate of it for dinner, or pair it with a piece of grilled fish or chicken. Delicious! So cauliflower and couscous are not the most photogenic foods, but I tried my best with the picture. The recipe was so easy!

All you have to do is chop up some cauliflower in small pieces. You could put it in in the food processor to mimic couscous, but I like a few bigger pieces to bite in to. Then put a couple of tablespoons of both butter and olive oil in a med-large dutch oven. Add in your cauliflower and cook down until tender, about 8 minutes. Add in your liquid and bring to a boil. I had some leftover chicken stock, but use veggie or water if you like to make this vegetarian. Just follow the proper ratios on the couscous box. I used plain, so no flavor packet was used. Add in the couscous and stir. Take off the heat and cover for 5 minutes. At the end (OPTIONAL) add in a couple turns of heavy cream and stir OR if you don’t have cream, you could add in a bit more butter or olive oil.

***To make vegan, leave out the butter and just use olive oil. Leave out the heavy cream.

001

Soft Eggs with Mushrooms, Potatoes, Bacon, Feta, and Tarragon

Happy Thursday! This week has been LONG, so I am very happy that tomorrow is FRIDAY!!!!

Becca had cheer practice and a party tonight, so Katie and I hung out and did lots of reading and math. Then I cooked up this fast dinner with random leftovers and odds and ends from the fridge.I was going to make a frittata, but Katie said she wanted runny eggs, which either means my runny scrambled eggs (totally cooked, just low and slow with butter and a splash of cream) or my sunny side up eggs.

I told her I would make cheesy runny eggs with bacon, mushrooms, and potatoes. She said, “You can do that?” Yes, I can!  I even let her help scramble the eggs and tear some tarragon =) We both gobbled it up and earned a spot in the clean plate club! I hope this inspires you to get in your kitchen and have a little fun!

Soft Eggs with Mushrooms, Potatoes, Bacon, Feta, and Tarragon with Garlic Toast

Ingredients

4 slices bacon, cooked and chopped
6 eggs, scrambled
1 small container mushrooms, sliced
2 red potatoes, chopped in small even pieces
about 1/2 a container of feta cheese
one handful of tarragon, finely chopped or kid shredded =)
3 tablespoons butter
salt and pepper to taste
4 pieces toast (left over garlic bread for us)

Directions

Cook your bacon in a hot pan. Take out and chop once cooled.
Turn down the pan to a medium heat. Cook your potatoes and mushrooms in the bacon grease and one tablespoon of olive oil, about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Turn down heat to low. Add in your scrambled eggs, bacon, butter, tarragon, and feta. Stir frequently for about 10 minutes until it just all comes together. Eggs will look loose but they are fully cooked.

Enjoy with some buttered toast. If you happen to have some leftover garlic bread, like me, that would be even better!