Chicken and Vegetable Bake

In honor of our beautiful Mel’s birthday,   I wanted to share a recipe using one of her very favorite ingredients: chicken!  This is a recipe that easy to prepare, but also very soothing and satisfying.  This recipe gets regular play in our kitchen, but it is not really a formal recipe…there is no right or wrong way to make it, just as long as it suits your tastes.

The idea was inspired by my mom, who makes porketta by placing the meat in the center of a roasting pan and surrounding it with potatoes.  The herbs and spices spread to the potatoes as the porketta cooks, creating potato chunks that are infused with garlicky, herb-y deliciousness.  It is a simple, tasty meal, and definitely comfort food.

Although I made chicken for this batch, pork chops can be substituted.  Also, the vegetables are based on what I have on hand.  Ideally, I would use potatoes, sweet potatoes, onions, carrots, celery, rutabaga, mushrooms, and apples, but I forgot to pick up a sweet potato when I was at Trader Joe’s, and they do not carry rutabaga, so potatoes, onions, carrots, mushrooms, and apples had to suffice.  I almost always serve this with my homemade gluten free mushroom gravy.  Chicken-y potato-y goodness!  Enjoy, and Happy Birthday Mel! 🙂