Sounds fancy, right? No doubt, it is delicious. But it’s super easy! This is one of my favorite chicken dinners to make. My friend Lisa Washington (of Food Network fame) taught me this recipe after she fed it to me and my entire family at her house one night. (Find her at setthetablewithlove.com). My kids raved about it so much that I had to ask her to share the recipe with me. And now, you have the benefit of my good fortune!

 

It’s funny. Recently I’ve had quite a few people ask me if I’m vegetarian or vegan. I’m not. I know I have a granola-crunchy reputation, and I embrace that, but that doesn’t automatically go along with a vegan diet. I DO support eating a plant-based diet, and I think that vegetarianism or veganism can work wonders for many people, especially depending on their health. I also think that as a society, we eat too much animal protein, both from a health standpoint as well as an earth sustainability point of view. But I’m not rigid. There are some times of the month when my body is asking for meat and a chicken leg, or small piece of fish or steak will fill the need. Many men find that eating meat suits them better than a strictly vegetarian diet. My main concern about meat is where it comes from. If I can get organic grass fed beef, truly free range chicken, or wild fish, I will buy that for us to eat. But just because there’s a label that says it’s “natural” does not mean that it’s not factory farmed, inhumanely treated, antibiotic and chemically fed meat. I know it can be tough to find and it’s not as easy as walking into your local supermarket to pick up your chicken for dinner. But I have done my research, and factory farmed meat is off the list. The way the animals are treated produces meat with lots of dangerous bacteria, and I don’t want to eat animals that suffer for my dinner. I’m fine with eating animals – that’s why humans have domesticated and cared for them for ages. But I believe the way most supermarket meat is produced these days is not the way it should be done…

 

Not how most of our meat is raised…

 

 

Ok, I’m off my soapbox now.  Let’s make some chicken! Now before you get put off by the name and think I’m suggesting some expensive stuff you won’t ever use again, herbs de provence is blend of herbs often used in french cooking. It can also be used on veggies too! You can make your own if you have the ingredients (2 tbsp each dried savory, rosemary, thyme, oregano. basil, marjoram, and fennel seed). I just buy it, and it’s easy to find. You could do just the rosemary on your chicken, because rosemary goes great with chicken, but the herbs de provence is something you can serve at a dinner party if you wanted to have someone over. It’s just a little extra!

 

 

 

You probably have the basic ingredients for this recipe in your frig and pantry. I make this recipe with chicken legs, because my family only likes dark meat and this part of the chicken is inexpensive, so why not? You can do it with thighs or breasts, but you’ll need to adjust your cooking time for the larger pieces.

 

INGREDIENTS

12 chicken legs

sea salt and pepper

garlic powder,

onion powder

herbs de provence

olive oil

 

First, arrange your chicken on the baking sheet. DO NOT wash your chicken first – it just spreads any bacteria on the chicken all over your sink, then onto anything else you put in the sink.  Use a paper towel to pat the meat dry so your spices will stick.

 

 

 

Then drizzle the meat with the olive oil, generously.

 

(This makes a delicious seasoned dipping oil after the chicken is done, if you’re eating bread…)

 

Grind your sea salt and pepper over both sides of the meat.

 

 

Use your fingers to sprinkle pinches of the onion and garlic powder over the legs.

 

 

 

Last, sprinkle the herbs de provence over the top. You can flip them and do the other side too.

 

 

Roast the chicken at 375 F for about 30 minutes. Mine may cook a little faster because I use a convection oven. You’ll know they’re done when the meat starts to pull away from the lower part of the bone.

 

 

 

While the chicken is cooking, cut up and prepare your cauliflower (see my post – Why I Cook for the recipe), then roast the cauliflower while the chicken is resting for 10 minutes. If you want a starch, put sweet or regular potatoes in the oven as soon as you turn it on the preheat for the chicken. They may need about an hour total to be ready, depending on size. Serve it all with a big green salad and enjoy!

 

A sample dinner – this is what the kids ate tonight. Chicken, oven roasted squash and zucchini, and baked potato…

 

What’s your favorite chicken dinner? Put your comments in the section below!