Chicken, Sweet Potato and Apple Skillet

So, today's recipe comes to you from the place where I am employed. Every quarter, we get a company wide newsletter. It talks about what goes on in our two facilities in New York and North Carolina, has some random tidbits of information, news about employees, etc. Recently I noticed they have been including a recipe as well.

I am not sure who comes up with the recipes, or where they get them, but the one in April's newsletter seemed interesting.

It was for a chicken, sweet potato and apple skillet. I knew I would have to change it up a little because the original recipe (see picture below) called for bacon and brussels sprouts, two foods I do not eat. I figured I could substitute broccoli for brussels sprouts and just leave out the bacon entirely.


I also knew I would substitute green apples for the golden delicious because I only like green apples.

So, over the weekend I purchased the ingredients I didn't already have in the house and set about making this dish. In my opinion, unless you are a wiz at chopping and dicing, leave a good hour and a half for this recipe. I wouldn't make it after coming home from work! It was easy enough once everything was peeled, chopped and diced though.

I decided to make some whole wheat couscous to serve with the meal. In the end, it came out okay...I don't know if I let something cook a little too long or if it needed the bacon for the extra flavor...but to my husband and I, we really felt like it needed some sort of sauce. I know, I know. This was a recipe for heart health (or so said the recipe in the newsletter). But, it needed a little something extra. I'd really have to sit down and think about what I could put on top of it if I ever make it again.

So, here is the recipe that I used (the modified one) - enjoy! And if you make it, tell me your thoughts on what I can add to it!!

Ingredients:

1 LB boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2" cubes
4 tsp olive oil
1 1/2 cup broccoli florets
1 medium sweet potato (abt 8 oz) peeled and cut into 1/2" cubes
1 medium onion, chopped
2 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and cut into 3/4" cubes
4 cloves of garlic, sliced
1/4 tsp dried thyme
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1 cup reduced sodium chicken broth
1/8 tsp salt

Directions:

Season chicken lightly with salt and heat 2 teaspoons of the olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat.

Add the chicken and cook until lightly browned and cooked through - about 5 minutes. Transfer to plate.

Return pan to heat and add remaining 2 teaspoons of oil. Add broccoli, sweet potato and onion. Cook, stirring occasionally, until crisp-tender, about 5 minutes.


Stir in apples, garlic, thyme and cinnamon. Cook 3 minutes.


Pour in 1/2 cup of the broth, bring to a boil, and cook until evaporated, about 2 minutes. Add reserved chicken and remaining 1/2 cup broth.


Season with salt and black pepper as needed. Cook until hot, about 2 minutes.

Honey Mustard Chicken and Apples

The following recipe is brought to you by the October Food Network Magazine!

While flipping through my latest issue of the Food Network Magazine, I came across this recipe and decided to try it.

My husband and I sometimes get a honey mustard chicken and pasta dish when we go to the diner so I wondered if it was similar. It is, but not entirely. The one in the diner is much sweeter, and I guess the honey mustard I have in the house has a different taste. Either way, it was good, and something we'll keep around for sure.

It takes about 40 minutes total to make.

Ingredients:
8 skin-on, bone in chicken thighs (2 to 2.5 pounds)
salt to taste
pepper to taste
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion cut into chunks
2 cooking apples (ex: Cortland), cut into chunks
1 cup low sodium chicken broth
2 to 3 tablespoons honey mustard
1 1/2 teaspoons unsalted butter, softened
1 tablespoon flour
1 to 2 tablespoons roughly chopped fresh parsley

** Stay tuned below for ALL the changes I made to the ingredients!!

Directions:
Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.

Season the chicken with salt and pepper to taste. Heat olive oil in large ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat.

Working in batches if necessary, add the chicken skin side down and cook until golden, about 6 minutes. Flip and cook 2-3 more minutes, then transfer to plate. Pour off all but 2 tablespoons of the drippings.


Add the onion and apples to the skillet and lightly season with salt and pepper. Cook until slightly softened, about 4 minutes.


Mix the broth with the mustard, then add to the skillet and bring to a boil Arrange the chicken, skin side up, in the skillet.


Transfer to the oven and roast until chicken is cooked through - about 15-20 minutes.


Mix the butter and flour to form a paste.

Use a slotted spoon to transfer the chicken, apples and onion to a plate and bring the pan juices to a simmer. Whisk in about half of the butter-flour mixture and boil to thicken, 2 minutes. Continue to cook, adding more of the butter-flour mixture as needed to make a slightly thick gravy. Season with salt and pepper.

Pour over chicken and sprinkle with parsley.


Now, that sounds good, right? Well, we are not the biggest fans of chicken thighs so we actually just used boneless chicken breasts. They obviously cooked a lot faster in the skillet and we only left them in the oven for maybe 10 minutes at the most - our chicken breasts were thin sliced. Tasted good to us!

We also used Macintosh apples, mostly because they were incredibly on sale today at the store. I also halved the recipe, which was pretty easy to do.

Oh, and be careful when taking the skillet out of the oven. I used a pot holder to take it out, and then promptly touched the handle like, 2 minutes later to stir something! Ouch! Needless to say I have a little blister on one finger now. And to make matters worse, I did it another time too.. guess I didn't learn!

It was a very tasty dinner and we had a side of rice.

Give it a shot!