Chicken and Sweet Potato Sheet Pan Meal

In the spirit of eating healthier and making our lives easier and with less clean up.  Sheet Pan cooking is great.  We have been creating a library of sheet pan meals for a couple years and this one was pretty outstanding.  Minimal prep and clean up time and awesome flavor!

CHICKEN AND SWEET POTATO SHEET PAN DINNER

• 1 ½ pounds sweet potatoes (2 medium potatoes)
• 2 teaspoons chopped thyme leaves, plus a small bunch of thyme sprigs
• ¼ cup whole-grain mustard
• 4 garlic cloves
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, softened
• 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
• 3 pounds bone-in chicken thighs or drumsticks (or a mixture), patted dry
• 2 ¼ teaspoons kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• ⅔ cup plain dried bread crumbs
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, more for drizzling
• 1 pound broccoli rabe, trimmed ( We substituted regular broccoli)
• Pinch red pepper flakes
• ⅓ cup sour cream or Greek yogurt

1. Prepare the sweet potatoes: Heat oven to 425 degrees. Cut the potatoes into 1-inch-thick slices. Reassemble the slices so they look like intact potatoes. Insert a sprig of thyme between each of the slices. Wrap each potato in 2 layers of foil and place on a pie tin or directly on oven rack (seam side up). Bake until very tender, 60 to 75 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, make the mustard butter for the chicken: In a small bowl, combine the whole-grain mustard and chopped thyme leaves. Mince 2 garlic cloves and stir into the bowl. Take out 1 tablespoon of the mixture; reserve. Add butter and Dijon to remaining mixture in bowl and stir to combine.
3. Prepare the chicken: Season chicken with 2 teaspoons salt and 1 teaspoon black pepper. Rub mustard butter all over chicken. Place bread crumbs in a wide, shallow bowl. Coat the chicken evenly with bread crumbs. Transfer to a baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil.
4. Once the sweet potatoes have baked for a half-hour, add the pan with chicken to the oven and bake until chicken is golden and no longer pink, 35 to 40 minutes.
5. As the chicken cooks, prepare the broccoli rabe: Toss rabe with olive oil, remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt and the red pepper flakes. Smash remaining 2 garlic cloves and toss into rabe. Spread on another sheet pan. Add to the oven with potatoes and chicken for the last 10 minutes of cooking time. The broccoli rabe is done when the stems are tender and the leaves are crisp at the edges. (The chicken, sweet potatoes and broccoli rabe should all come out of the oven at more or less the same time.)
6. To serve, combine the reserved 1 tablespoon of mustard mixture with sour cream or yogurt in a small bowl. Serve chicken with broccoli rabe and sweet potatoes on the side, dolloping the potatoes with the sour cream-mustard sauce.

Spring Is Here

The warm weather, the trees budding, irises coming up and what is this?  A blizzard?  6" of snow this morning and more coming!  So much for no winter this year!

Breakfast Casserole for Two

Drizzly, grey April weekend.  Mom napping. Tim making breakfast. Yum!

Breakfast Casserole for Two

3 slices bacon, chopped ( we substituted ham)
2 slices hearty white sandwich bread, cut into 1/2" pieces
4 tablespoons heavy cream
4 large eggs
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
2 scallions, sliced thin
1/2 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese

1. Adjust oven rack to upper middle position and heat oven to 475 degrees. Cook bacon in 8 inch nonstick, oven safe skillet over medium heat until crisp about 8 minutes.  Using slotted spoon, transfer bacon to paper towel-lined plate. Pour off all but 1 tablespoon fat from pan.
2. Add half of bread to skillet and cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until golden brown.  3 to 5 minutes.  Transfer to medium bowl and toss with untoasted bread.
3. Whisk cream, eggs, salt, and pepper in another medium bowl until smooth.  Stir in bacon, scallions, and cheddar. Add egg mixture to now-empty skillet and cook over medium heat, using spatula to scrape bottom of pan, until eggs are just beginning to set, about 1 minute. Fold in bread and lightly pat mixture into even thickness. Bake until puffed and golden brown, 7 to 9 minutes. Serve.

and now for something totally adorable....

Sookie flirting with me.