Winner, winner! Chicken dinner.

 

I made this for dinner the other night.  All of the veggies in the picture came from the Blosser Urban Garden.   I figure I should share the recipe for this even though it was a bit of a daunting task to get my dinner made.  My oven decided to blow the bottom coil!  So originally my plan was to cook this all at 450 degrees for about 35 minutes.  However I am not sure what the oven temp was but I ended up cooking the taters and chicken for about an hour and fifteen minutes.  If your oven works I don't recommend cooking for that long!!!

Stuff You Need:

• Chicken ( I used 2 legs and 2 thighs)
• Potatoes (about 8 tiny yukon gold cut in half)
• Butter (at room temp I used about 3 tablespoons)
• Oregano (about a teaspoon)
• Orange Zest (teaspoon of this too)
• Lemon Juice (I used 3 teaspoons but I like my stuff citrusy)
• Arugula (I used the whole bunch that came from B.U.G.)

What you do:

1. Make sure your oven works!  I thought my oven was working.  It felt warm but the bottom wasn't heating.  I didn't realize this until about 15 minutes into my cooking; or rather lack of cooking.  So preheat your oven and check the temp.
2. In a small prep bowl mix your butter, orange zest and oregano.  Then rub the mixture all over the chicken and potatoes.
3. Layer some foil on a baking sheet and lay the potatoes and chicken (skin side up) on the baking sheet.  Sprinkle some sea salt and pepper on the whole lot.  Throw it in the oven, well not throw, place in the oven.
4. Wash and remove the stems from the arugula.  Roughly chop it up a bit. 
5. Part way through the cooking process, give the taters a little turn.
6. When the chicken is fully cooked (I cheat and use a meat thermometer) take the chicken off of the baking sheet.  Then throw the arugula onto the sheet with the potato and meat juices.
7. Drizzle the lemon juice on top, toss the whole lot together and add a bit more pepper.

Fruit Salad:
I imagine you can whip up any type of salad you want to go with this dish.  Since I used orange zest I figured I may as well use the orange too.  And I had strawberries, so together they went.  I have a bit of a sweet tooth and the fruit was not as sweet as I needed.  So I added a teensy bit (bout a teaspoon) of organic agave sweetener.  I also added a teensy sprinkle of cinnamon as well as a dash of lemon juice.

Dinner was a smashing success!  I had just enough left overs to pack for lunch the following day.  Sorry hubs no extra for you.  But I do plan on trying this recipe again maybe letting the chicken sit in some wine before I give it the butter rub down and adding some cayenne for some heat.  I really enjoyed having the light, sweet fruit to munch on in between bites of heavier foods.  I felt like a fat little piggy after this dinner.  It was so tasty I wanted more, but eating responsibly is always best.  No sense in stuffing myself when I can just make this again some other time.