Baked Chicken and Veggies

I tend to eat fairly simply. Making meals for my partner and me to enjoy that are also healthy. Neither of us are getting any younger and he has issues with high cholesterol. I, on the other hand, have issues with low blood pressure. Since eating healthy is good for both of us, I try to cook fairly simple meals, while making them as tasty as I can. This is a recipe I make at least once a week. Quick to prepare and cooks up in under an hour, not including prep time

Ingredients

1 - 2 Chicken Breast, cubed - See the notes below the recipe. I try to cut whatever protein you are using for this recipe into one inch cubes. It cooks up faster and more evenly if you cut it into smaller sections. That being said I have also made this with chicken thighs and once with a half chicken. It turned out great either way.

1 Large Yam - Cubed - You could use potatoes instead but I prefer yams as they are lower glycemic than potatoes. You could even mix and match and use both.

1 Parsnips - trimmed, cut into quarter inch coins, then cut into quarters as well. See notes below. These can be substituted for turnips or rutabaga or any of your favourite root vegetables.

1 Carrot - trimmed, cut into quarter inch coins, then cut each coin into quarters as well. For root vegetables, I find cutting them into smaller pieces helps them cook faster. There is nothing worse than taking a bite of one perfectly cooked veggie and then chomping down on a completely raw piece of carrot. I like my veggies to have the same mouth feel.

1 Red Onion, cut into eighths - I prefer using red onions as opposed to white but that is completely up to your taste. White onions tend to be stronger in flavour and make your eyes water when chopping them up. I don't find that I cry as much with red onions as they seem more fragrant than pungeant

1 head Garlic cloves, peeled and separated - You can toss them in whole allowing them to bake along with the rest of the veggies. Baking garlic mellows out their flavour. You might still end up with garlic breath but it will be substantially less.

6 sprigs Thyme - If you are using fresh you can place the sprigs on top of the veggies and protein before putting into the oven. You can also use dried and just sprinkle on top.

1 Lemon, Quartered

Olive Oil, about 1/4 c - You can use any vegetable oil in this recipe as long as it is a light tasting oil.

2T vinegar - I always use regular white vinegar. But you could use a dash of wine vinegar. If you are not on a gluten free diet, you could also use a balsamic vinegar, but don't overdo it as it is very strong tasting.

Seasonings to taste - I have a lot of spices to choose from. For a long time my go to spice blend has been sage and nutmeg but lately I have been using a lot of smoked paprika

Salt and pepper, to taste

Directions

Preheat the oven to 450C.

Chop your veggies and place all in a casserole dish.

Chop up your protein and season with your preferred spices. Place, evenly spread, on top of the vegetables

Mix the oil, vinegar and seasonings. Drizzle over the vegetables. Sprinkle with dried thyme or place fresh sprigs on top.

Notes

This recipe calls for chicken but any protein can be substituted. I have made this with stewing beef, cubed pork or even tofu.

I *used* to make this with parsnips as they are literally my favourite but I have since developed an allergy to them. :( And now I can't eat parsnips without feeling like I am rotting from the inside out for the next several days.