I always thought that when I retired, (Yes, RETIRED!  More about that in an upcoming post.) I’d spend my days making elaborate meals!   Meals that took lots of planning, shopping for exotic ingredients and hours in the kitchen.  I’ve kind of surprised myself with my recent desire for simplicity.  Simplicity of ingredients, quick cooking and easy, often one pan,  clean up!  Additionally, anything I cook usually makes two appearances.  The roast chicken below became chicken salad for lunches, two days in a row.  I am sure I will continue to explore elaborate and exotic adventures in food, but they will not be as frequent as I’d thought they would be.

Sheet-pan suppers are gaining in popularity for good reason.  They are quick, nutritious, delicious one pan alternatives to the crock pot.  Don’t get me wrong, I love my crock pot for many things.  But, you will never get crispy skin on a chicken or roast potatoes, in a crock pot!  Also unlikethe crock pot, you can prep, cook and serve in 45 – 60 minutes, which fits in better with my current state of spontaneity!

For this recipe, I suggest you spatchcock your chicken.  It will cook quickly and evenly and provide a safe, steamy haven for the green beans.  If you do not know how to spatchcock a chicken….Google it and watch a video or two.  Alternatively, you could ask your butcher to remove the back bone for you.  Just make sure you retain it, for your scrap bag of chicken parts, for stock.

For the Mediterranean inspired chicken, potato and green bean supper

Organic ingredients whenever possible

1 half-sheet, sheet pan

1 fresh young chicken 3-4 pounds, preferably organic, spatchcoked and patted dry

7-8 cloves of garlic, minced

leaves from 4-5 sprigs of fresh oregano, minced

zest of one lemon, finely grated on a microplane

juice of zested lemon

Mix the garlic, oregano, lemon zest and lemon juice together in a small bowl with about 2 Tablespoons of olive oil

1 large lemon, sliced thinly

3/4 – 1 pound of fresh green beans, ends removed, uniformly sized

1 pound tiny red and gold potatoes, quartered

Salt and Pepper

additional olive oil

Drizzle a little olive oil on the sheet pan.  Pile the green beans in a tight pile, in the center of the pan.

Place the flattened chicken over the green beans, ensuring the beans are all tucked underneath it.

Drizzle olive oil over the chicken and massage it in!  Place a couple teaspoonful’s of the garlic, oregano and lemon mixture, under the skin.  Place a few lemon slices under the skin as well.

Place the potatoes around the chicken, in a single layer.   Drizzle the potatoes with the remaining herb mixture.  Toss well to ensure they are coated.

Season well with salt and pepper and Greek style seasoning.  (Greek blend offered by numerous spice companies.)

Pop it in a 400′ oven for 45-50 minutes, or until the temperature in the thigh registers 165′.

Let the chicken rest 10-15 minutes before serving.

I hope you will give this meal a try!

Thanks for stopping by.

Have a great evening,

Laura

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