I don’t usually do a lot of cooking on the weekdays. I usually try out new recipes on the weekends when I have more time and have had a chance to pick out a new recipe, and do the grocery shopping for it, etc. However, this week my uncle and cousin are staying with us while their house is undergoing some renovations. So obviously when company is over (even though it’s family), it’s time to pull out the stops and cook a real, hearty meal. This recipe definitely fits the bill. It’s a great one-dish meal that’s mostly hands-off, leaving plenty of time for other things. This is also something you’ll want extra of since it’s great as leftovers too, or would be easily turned into a soup.
This is easily customizable with the vegetables you have on hand. I think sweet potatoes would be delicious in this, celery would also be good and add some green. Mix it up, just make sure that your vegetables are roughly the same size so they cook evenly.
My cousin, Naomi, also discovered that she likes parsnips by eating this dish! So it’s a great way to introduce new vegetables! It’s always a thrill for me when someone discovers that they like something new!
Lemon-Rosemary Roasted Chicken Breasts with Roasted Vegetables
Serves 8
- 1 acorn squash, seeded and cut in 1 1/2″ chunks (I left the skin on and it was soft enough to eat)
- 5 small new potatoes, quartered
- 6 parsnips, cut in 1 1/2″ chunks
- 6 carrots, cut in 1″ chunks
- 2 red onions, cut into large segments
- 4 large chicken breasts
- salt and pepper
- olive oil
- 1 tsp rosemary
- 2 lemons, thinly sliced
- 1 cup chicken stock (optional)
Preheat oven to 400°F. Grease the bottom of a large roasting pan with cooking spray.
Spread vegetables over the bottom of the pan. Drizzle with olive oil and just a sprinkle of kosher salt. Top with chicken breasts. Drizzle chicken breasts with olive oil and season generously with salt and pepper. Flip breasts over and season the other side with salt, pepper, and rosemary. Top chicken with lemon slices and squeeze a little lemon juice over the chicken.
Roast the chicken for about 45 minutes. Check to see how things are cooking, if vegetables seem to be drying out, add chicken stock. Continue to cook until chicken is cooked through. This took about 1 1/2 hours for me, but they were some awfully big chicken breasts.