Happy Hausfrau: Easy Peasy ‘Italian’ Chicken and Veggies

I use the term ‘Italian’ here very, very, very loosely, because really, it’s more of a savory chicken than Italian. But I got the idea for this from this recipe, and have just, by default, always referred to it that way.

Originally, there were a couple elements of this recipe I didn’t like: canned green beans, for starters, and also, the packet of Italian dressing mix (whose very first ingredient is sugar, followed by a bunch of unpronounceable non-foodish words).

Here’s my version.

What you’ll need:

4-5 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

6-7 new potatoes, cut into quarters or smaller

Green beans – frozen or fresh (I prefer fresh, but didn’t have any on hand when I made it the other night, so the picture is frozen french cut)

One sweet bell pepper, chopped

Olive oil

Dried onion

Garlic powder

Finely ground sea salt

Black pepper

Oregano

Sage

Here’s what you’ll do:

Rinse the chicken and pat dry. Place in a line down the middle of a large baking dish. Line potatoes on one side, green beans on the other. Sprinkle bell pepper on top (not pictured, sorry!). Brush with olive oil. Don’t be stingy, but don’t get carried away. (If you want, you could substitue the olive oil with melted butter, but olive oil was lots easier and maybe a little bit healthier.) 

 

In a small bowl, mix the herbs and seasonings together. I didn’t put measurements down, because I didn’t use any – I tend to shoot from the hip with that kind of thing. To give you an idea, I listed them in order from most to least, and if I had to estimate, I used about two tablespoons of onion and garlic powder, one tablespoon salt, and a couple teaspoons of everything else.

 

Once they’re mixed, sprinkle evenly on top. Cover with tin foil and bake for an hour or so at 350. Remove foil (carefully, there’ll be steam trapped inside), turn on your broiler, and let cook for an additional five minutes, or until the top is sufficiently browned and crispy-ish. 

I thought I had taken a picture of it all finished up, but either my camera somehow hid the pic from me (very likely *snort*), or I hallucinated the whole thing (that doesn’t sound like me *giggle*). Anyway, it finishes up almost as pretty as it goes in, which always makes me happy, ’cause the only thing better than eating good food is eating good, pretty food.

Enjoy!

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