Pan Sauteed Chicken with Veggies and Herbs

Four reasons why I love this dinner... 1. It's really healthy 2. It's SOOOO good (and the smell of your house is even better!) 3. You can really play with the recipe... making as little, or as much as your family needs and changing up the veggies to your liking or what you have on hand. 4. It's really easy to make!

I came across this recipe because I had a bag of potatoes, some carrots and tons of fresh herbs in my fridge that I wanted to use before they went bad. I also had some chicken and was wanting a healthy, chicken and veggie meal. I found this recipe in a Taste of Home magazine. It was actually on an ad for Swanson Chicken Stock. I changed up a few things, but mostly followed what they did.

I think the only thing I would change next time I make this would be to add some minced garlic along with the olive oil before adding the onions and potatoes. I would also probably use a tad more lemon juice because I am a BIG fan of lemon!

Ingredients:

* 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
* 1/4 tsp paprika
* 2 T all-purpose flour
* 4 bone-in chicken breast halves (I used 2 organic, boneless skinless chicken breasts that were huge... together they weighed 1 1/5 lbs)
* 2 T olive oil (I also used 1 T butter)
* 2 small red onions, cut into quarters (I used 1 medium sized onion)
* 1 lb new potatoes, cut into quarters (I used 5 medium size russet potatoes because I had them on hand)
* 8 oz fresh whole baby carrots (about 16), green tops trimmed to 1 inch (I used one bunch (6) of baby carrots and 2 regular carrots, again because I had them on hand)
* 2 cups Chicken Stock (I used Free Ranch Chicken Broth- not sure what exactly the difference is between stock and broth, but I always have broth on hand) (I also made steamed rice on the side that I used half water and half chicken broth for)
* 3 T lemon juice (I used the juice of one large lemon plus I cleaned and sliced a second lemon and put the slices in while baking)
* 1 T chopped fresh oregano leaves (I just threw in 3-4 branches- I didn't chop. I think it added good flavor to the broth. Next time I may throw in 2-3 branches and chop some in as well)
* 1 Branch fresh Rosemary (Optional- I had this on hand so I used it, but recipe didn't call for it.)
* 1 T chopped fresh thyme leaves

1. Heat the oven to 350. Combine black pepper, paprika and flour. Coat the chicken with the flour mixture.

2. Heat the oil in a 12-inch oven safe skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and cook until it's well browned on all sides (around 3-4 minutes per side). Remove chicken from skillet and set aside.

3. Add the onions and potatoes to the skillet and cook for 5-7 minutes. I seasoned these with some pepper and salt and Nature Seasonings. Add the carrots (I also added 1 T of butter here) and cook a few more minutes. Then add stock (broth), lemon juice and oregano (and rosemary if you are using it) and heat to a boil. Return the chicken to the skillet (I then added the sliced lemon on top). Cover the skillet.

4. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes. Take out, stir and put back in, uncovered, for another 15 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through and the vegetables are tender. Sprinkle with the thyme. Serve!


I served this along side of jasmine rice that I put in my rice cooker. For the liquid, I used 1 part water to 1 part chicken broth. Once it was done, I stirred (fluffed) and added a drizzle of olive oil and some kosher salt. Stir again. I served the chicken and veggies on the side of the rice. I then ladled the juice from chicken/veggie dish over everything.

ENJOY

My ingredients

Noticed how I chopped off most of the green leafy part, leaving about an inch of green.

Lemon slices

Fresh oregano and rosemary branches

chopped fresh thyme

Coat chicken and put in pan with hot oil to brown both sides

Remove chicken, add veggies

Add broth, lemon juice, oregano, (rosemary and lemon slices if you are using them)

After cooking

Served alongside rice and pouring the "gravy" over the top of everything

Mmm Mmm Good!