Fall Dinners

With Fall approaching, I noticed a trend in my menu list last week. I had two recipes that involved roasted chicken with potatoes. They were both new recipes and I tried this one last night. I got it from a friend (and stole her picture too), but her blog is private, so I'm sharing it again on mine. Don't forget to check out my adjustments at the bottom!

It was really easy and only took a cutting board and the baking pan to make it! While it was in the oven cooking, I was talking to my sister, Shannon, on the phone and telling her what I was making for dinner. She asked if I thought my kids would eat it. I said that Rachel would eat it because she loves chicken and she likes sweet potatoes. Of course, she made a liar out of me and wouldn't eat the chicken OR the sweet potatoes!!! She ate a ton of green beans and peaches though. My girls were a little freaked out because I used fresh thyme. When the leaves fell off the sprigs and onto the chicken, it made them nervous. If I had used dried thyme and they hadn't seen the twigs, they wouldn't have thought twice about it. Whatever. Oh yeah, and the ever picky husband almost licked his plate clean!
Maple Roasted Chicken with Sweet Potatoes

1 3 1/2 to 4 lb chicken, cut into 8 pieces
1 yellow onion, cut into 1 inch wedges
2 small sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 inch wedges
2 tbsp. olive oil
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper (I didn't measure, I just put it all over the top of it)
4 tbsp. light maple syrup
6 sprigs fresh thyme (or 2 tsp. dried)

1. Heat oven to 400 degrees (F). Rinse the chicken and pat it dry. Arrange chicken, onion, and sweet potatoes in a 9-by-13 baking dish.
2. Drizzle the oil over the chicken and vegetables and season with the salt and pepper. Toss to coat.
3. Drizzle with the maple syrup and top with thyme.
4. Roast, stirring the vegetables once, until the chicken is cooked through, about 1 hour, 15 minutes. Let rest for 10 minutes before serving.


****My family are not big meat eaters, so I used two chicken breasts cut into four or five pieces. I also cooked it in an 11 x 7 pan. I only used half the onion, but I was probably a bit liberal with the syrup. I still used two potatoes, since those are yummy! Since my chicken was boneless, I cut the cooking time down to about an hour or less.