Roasted Greek Potatoes and Poached Lemon Chicken

Sorry for the hiatus! My mother came to visit for Easter, we had a blast! It was the first time I had seen her since she and my father came to meet my youngest in October after he was born. I live 14 hours from my family and about 17 from my husband's family. I am very close with both of them ((my mother-in-law is like my best friend)) so being so far away is very hard!!

So, like all good intentions that suddenly fly to the wayside, I haven't been upholding my phone dates for my weekly goals. BUT, I have been taking my own time to set daily and weekly goals. Yay me! Being in control of your life is so, invigorating. I'm not talking about the absence of an outside controller ((addiction, significant other, etc)). I'm talking about proactive control of your own life. For me, that means using a planner to plan out each day. What phone calls I need to make, what chores are in line for that day, anything special I promises I made to my children ((I'd hate to let them down!)) I also keep track of my husband's classes ((and some assignments for him also!)), work schedule, and any other obligations so that we can be on the same page. As my children grow and begin to have their own schedules I will have to keep track of those as well. My next goal is to create a household notebook and personal planner. I am also going to design a canvas covering for a plain binder. Anything that looks nice is much more likely to be used!! When I finish this project, I will post the pages to the notebook up here for you to print at your leisure. I will probably post the pattern for the book. But for any of you not-so-crafty I will be offering it for sale. Keep your eyes peeled and prayers that I can complete this task!!

Now onto the title of this post!! Roasted Greek Potatoes and Poached Lemon Chicken. MMmmMmMmmm. It was yu-UM-my!! My husband missed out when I made it for dinner, he came home late, so I packaged it up for lunch the next day. In the middle of lunch, he sent me a text message: "...This is AMAZING. LIKE - BEYOND AMAZING!" My husband in the lemon man, too, so for him to say this is awesome! Here we go!




First things first, the ingredients! Potatoes, chicken stock, fresh parmesan cheese, garlic, oregano, lemons, paprika, grape seed oil, and, salt and pepper. My tools that I used are the cutting board, measuring cup, microplane and a sharp knife ((I don't have very good knives so yes that's my sharpest!))  Also, a roasting pan, and a pan with high sides and tight fitting lid.

 To start, make the dressing for the potatoes. Zest the lemons, and juice them. As you can see in the picture below, I used my microplane to catch the seeds of the lemon. We don't want those in our potatoes. Yuck. I also used my microplane to grate the garlic and parmesan cheese. I use the microplane for garlic to get it nice a small, so that you get some in every bite and so I do not get that sticky garlic juice all over my hands. As much as I love garlic it is not a very feminine smell on the hands.

Add in the oil, oregano, salt, and pepper. ((I used EVOO in the potatoes for flavor and grape seed in the chicken just for healthy-color))

Toss the dressing all over the potatoes and sprinkle some paprika on top. I am Hungarian so any chance I get I add paprika. It adds a nice color when its all done and a remarkable flavor that is oh-so-subtle but super delicious! ((My mother always told me it had no flavor it was just for show--so NOT true)) Try it with Hot Paprika if you wish but my little munchkins have sensitive palates; unfortunately.

Next for the delectable chicken! Season the chicken with the same as the potatoes. Lets keep the greek theme rolling! Salt, pepper, garlic (granulated), and paprika. Heat up the pan over medium-high heat with a little grape seed oil in it. Be careful, grape seed oil has a lower smoking point!!

 Not really sure why I took this picture... But it looks pretty cool, so I kept it anyway. =)

Oh! I remember now; This is the measuring cup I used. I use it for sauces and stuff that I don't need to actually measure because after I washed it at max 5 times all the labels washed off completely. So product review: don't buy; go with Pyrex instead.


Brown up the outside of the chicken so it looks nice and pretty. See that nice color? That's from two things. The oil and the paprika. The pan I used is an uber great non-stick but if you don't put any fat in the pan you won't get a great color. The paprika boosts that awesome color.

Next, add the chicken stock to pan and cover with a tight-fitting lid. Poaching the chicken gives you a moist and tender piece of chicken. I put too much stock in mine but have corrected the amount in the recipe below. 

Serve it up some yummy garlic parmesan broccoli or a greek salad and you'll have your family silent through dinner as they stuff their mouths full of this delicious-ness!! ((And yes my children slaughtered this delicious-ness with ketchup! -.-))

 ((Like my mickey mouse plate arrangement!?))

 Happy Hump Day and I hope this meal can brighten up your week!!

Roasted Greek Potatoes and Poached Lemon Chicken

 Potatoes

•  1/4 C Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
• 1 Tbsp Oregano
• 1-1/2 tsp Salt
• zest and juice of 2 lemons
• 3 cloves of grated garlic
• enough potatoes to fill a 9X13 pan

Measure the oil into a cup; add the remaining ingredients and whisk together. 

Dice up the potatoes and place in roasting pan.

Dress the potatoes and toss to coat.

Bake in the oven at 400* for 40-50 minutes. Halfway through check to make sure they aren't sticking too bad but try to make sure that you don't really disturb them too much.

Chicken

Seasoning

• Salt
• Pepper
• Garlic
• Oregano
• Paprika

• Grape seed oil
• 4 Chicken breasts
• 1/3 - 1/2 C Chicken stock
• Lemon juice/zest

Season the chicken on one side while you preheat the pan. Place the chicken seasoned side down once the oil is heated. Season the second side. 

Brown on each side, then add the chicken stock, lemon juice and lemon zest.

Cover and let simmer, not boil, for 15-20 minutes until done.

Enjoy your meal!