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Roasted Chicken, Potato Medley and Maple Gravy

December 5, 2011 by 1 Comment

I was in the mood for some Comfort Food. But I didn’t want the usual – which is usually a heavy casserole, Macaroni & Cheese, etc. Do you ever get tired of making the same things week after week? I do! So I decided that I’d Roast some Chicken and Potatoes but put a Maple twist to it! I didn’t really have a set plan before getting into the kitchen. I just kind of went with it, which is why there really aren’t exact measurements to this recipe. It’s one of those recipes where you just “eye ball” it.

  • 4 Chicken Leg Quarters (or Split Chicken Breasts)
  • Butter
  • About 8  Baby White Potatoes
  • 1 medium sized Sweet Potato
  • Maple Syrup
  • Salt
  • Pepper
  • 1 Tablespoon Corn Starch
  • 1/4 cup Water

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Wash the Chicken thoroughly, and pat dry with a paper towel. Season the bottom of each piece of chicken and place skin side up in a large baking dish. Make a small slit in the skin and stuff a small slice of butter under the skin. Repeat for each piece of chicken. Lay a small slice of butter on top of each piece.

Season with salt and pepper.

Wash the Baby Potatoes and the Sweet Potato. Cut up into bite sized chunks (make sure they are all about the same size so they cook evenly).

Arrange the Potatoes around the chicken. Season the Potatoes with salt.

Drizzle the Potatoes and the chicken with Maple Syrup. I didn’t put an exact measurement because you should use your judgement. Don’t drench everything with the Maple Syrup – remember that it’s sweet stuff!

Roast in the oven for about an hour. After about 30 minutes I took it out of the oven and mixed up the potatoes a bit. I also drizzled a little bit more Maple Syrup on everything. Make sure the Chicken is at least 160 degrees (use your thermometer!) and when it’s done take it out of the oven. I scooped the potatoes out of the baking dish and put them in a bowl.

Strain the juice/gravy into a measuring glass. You want to make sure you get the chicken bits, etc out of the liquid. Remove the fat off of the top. Pour the liquid into a small saucepan and heat under medium heat. Mix the cornstarch and water together. Add to the saucepan. Let it come to a boil. This will thicken it into a nice gravy.

Place the Chicken on a serving platter.

Plate it, and enjoy! The Maple Gravy is delicious on both the Chicken and on the Potatoes!

 

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5 Ingredient Friday: Baked Acorn Squash

September 16, 2011 by 1 Comment

So as you are well aware, I belong to a CSA program. I got a Green Acorn Squash in this week’s CSA Box, so I figured I should do something with it! Now I’ve never had Green Acorn Squash before; I’ve only had Butternut Squash.  So I kept the Acorn Squash so that I could try it out. I wanted a pretty easy recipe to try, so I tried the Baked Acorn Squash recipe from Simply Recipes. I made a few changes to the recipe, so if you want to see the original recipe, click here.

 

  • 1 Acorn squash
  • 2 tablespoons Butter
  • 4 tablespoons Brown Sugar
  • 2 teaspoons Maple Syrup
  • 2 teaspoons Honey
  • dash of salt (freebie)

 

Preheat oven to 400°F.

Using a strong chef’s knife, cut the acorn squash in half, lengthwise, from stem to end.

Use a spoon to scoop out the seeds and stringy stuff in the center of each half.  Score the insides of each half several times with a sharp knife.


Place each half in a baking pan, cut side up. Add about a 1/4 inch of water to the bottom of the baking pan so that the skins don’t burn and the squash doesn’t get dried out.

Coat the inside of each half with one tablespoon of butter. Add a dash of salt if you are using unsalted butter (I still used a dash, even though I used salted butter). Add two tablespoons of brown sugar to the cavity of each half.  Drizzle on a teaspoon of maple syrup to each half. Do the same with the honey.

Bake in the oven for about 1 hour 15 minutes, until the squash is very soft and the tops are browned. Do not undercook. When finished, remove from oven and let cool a little before serving.


Spoon any buttery sugar sauce that has not already been absorbed by the squash over the exposed areas. Serve!

 

I love brown sugar, maple syrup, and butter, so I did enjoy this dish. I thought the honey gave it a nice flavor. I wish everything got a bit more syrupy, but it’s not a big deal that it didn’t. I think the next time I may try a little bit of cinnamon in there as well. I think that would definitely boost the flavor a bit!  It was a good recipe, but I can’t see myself running out to buy an Acorn Squash anytime soon. Especially since I’d only be making it for myself; Mr. Curly Fry turned his nose up at it. ;)

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5 Ingredient Friday: Pumpkin Seed Dried Cherry Trail Mix

April 15, 2011 by Leave a Comment

This week the featured 5 Ingredient recipe is Pumpkin Seed Dried Cherry Trail Mix! Wow, that was a mouth full! I don’t know about you, but when I eat some yogurt for breakfast in the morning it seems a bit “blah” to me. So that’s why I like to add a little bit of fruit or granola or something crunchy to it. Aly over at Cooking in Stilettos told me about this trail mix and raved about how good it was. I was planning on making it, and then when I was watching “5 Ingredient Fix” the next day Claire was making this!  Perfect timing! I thought this would be just what I needed for on top of my yogurt!

Ingredients

  • 2 cups baby pumpkin seeds (pepitas)
  • 1 cup slivered almonds
  • 3/4 cup raw sunflower seeds
  • 6 tablespoons pure Grade B maple syrup
  • Coarse salt
  • 1 cup dried cherries or cranberries

Directions

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.

In a large bowl, toss the pumpkin seeds, almonds, and sunflower seeds and the syrup until evenly coated. Spread the nuts and seeds out, in an even single layer, on the lined baking sheets and season with salt to taste. Bake the nuts, stirring several times with spatula or wooden spoon, until just golden, about 20 minutes.

Cool the nuts completely on the pan, then add the cherries and toss to combine. Store cooled trail mix in an airtight container at room temperature.

My thoughts…

First, I’ll say this makes quite a bit! I think in the future I may half the recipe since I’m the only nut lover in my house.  Having this stuff on hand is dangerous, to say the least!

This was delicious! And the perfect addition to my morning yogurt! I usually only put 2 Tablespoons in a baggie to put on my yogurt, otherwise I’d probably end up snacking on a cup of it! I also decided to do half dried cranberries and half dried cherries since I had both on hand. I loved the way it tasted! So you can go either way, or you can do some of each if you want. The choice is yours!

Recipe courtesy Claire Robinson, 2009
Show: 5 Ingredient Fix
Episode: 5 Ingredient Fuel

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