PAN ROASTED CHICKEN WITH LEMON-GARLIC GREEN BEANS AND RED POTATOES!

This is how Wee Willie Willard and I are feeling right now--too pooped to poop! But he's lucky--he can just stay snuggly in his cozy little bed, while I always have SOOO much to do. This photo is telling me that Willie needs a bigger bed--he's not so "Wee", anymore:

Do you know what is a God-send, in my book, on days like today? You know, days where you are tired and a little blue (winter is NOT going away, anytime soon around here, I fear) and you just wish you had your mama around to make you a comforting dinner, but you don't? To me, nothing makes me feel better than the smell of chicken and potatoes roasting in the oven--smells like HOME! I found this fabulous recipe online a while back, and here's what I love about it the most: you can cook the chicken, potatoes and green beans in ONE pan! So terrific. And, this recipe uses tons of two of my very favorite ingredients--lemon and garlic. Yum. I did doctor the spices up a bit from the original, adding Herbs Du Provence. Every kitchen needs those spices, if you like to cook a little Frenchie Frenchie every now and then. And who doesn't? To get started, you need to preheat your oven to 450 degrees, then juice and slice up some lemon. Mince 4, count 'em, 4 cloves of garlic:

Arrange your lemon slices in a single layer in the baking dish, like so:

Rinse your green beans and potatoes, then trim the beans and quarter the spuds:

In a large bowl, combine some olive oil, lemon juice, minced garlic, salt and pepper. Add the green beans; toss to coat. Then, using a slotted spoon, remove beans and arrange them on top of the lemon slices:

Add the potatoes to the same olive oil / lemon / garlic mixture, and toss to coat. Arrange the potatoes around the edge of the baking dish. Coat chicken breasts (or any chicken pieces you desire--I might try this with thighs next time) in same oil mixture, then place in the pan. Rub chicken breasts with Herbs Du Provence:

Bake for 50-60 minutes, or until potatoes are tender and chicken is brown and crispy and cooked throughout (if chicken is done early, you can always remove it and cover, and let the potatoes continue to cook until fork-tender). Place a chicken breast on each serving plate; divide the green beans and potatoes equally. Voila! You've got suppah:

By the way, the lemon slices roast beautifully in this dish, so you can use them as a garnish on your dinner plates. I hope you enjoy this as much as we did!

PAN ROASTED CHICKEN WITH LEMON-GARLIC GREEN BEANS AND RED POTATOES

Serves 4

8 tblsp. olive oil

2 lemons, 1 thinly sliced and 1 juiced

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. black pepper

1 lb. trimmed green beans

8 red potatoes, quartered (leave skins on)

4 chicken breasts (bone in, with skin), or any combination of chicken pieces you desire

Herbs Du Provence (sold wherever spices are)

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Coat large baking dish with 1 tblsp. olive oil. Arrange lemon slices in a single layer in the bottom of the dish or skillet. In a large bowl, combine the remaining oil, lemon juice, garlic, salt and pepper. Add the green beans and toss to coat. With a slotted spoon, remove beans and arrange them on top of the lemon slices. Add the potatoes to the same oil mixture and toss to coat. Using a slotted spoon, arrange the potatoes around the inside edge of the baking dish, on top of the green beans. Place chicken in oil mixture and coat thoroughly. Place chicken, skin side up, in the dish, and sprinkle with Herbs Du Provence. Pour any of remaining oil mixture over chicken and roast for 50-60 minutes, or until chicken skin is brown and crispy and potatoes are fork tender. (You may need to remove chicken, then let potatoes continute roasting until done) Place a chicken breast on each of 4 serving plates. Divide green beans and potatoes equally.

TOP 3 THINGS I'M GRATEFUL FOR TODAY:

1. I'm grateful that I went back to my dermatologist this morning to have my stitches removed, because he found an infection in my chubby little finger that I didn't know existed! BLEECH!

2. I'm grateful that I found time to stop by Barnes and Noble for a Venti Skinny Latte. Best part of my whole day, second only to doing this blog post.

3. I'm grateful for the fun evening we had with our friend Ted from Saranac last night. He loved my Maple and Orange Salmon and he especially loved my Peanut Butter Pie!

And how can you not adore a man who loves peanut butter pie?