I just arrived home from a trip to Michigan to spend time with Meat-and-Potatoes-Guy’s side of the family and discovered something completely unexpected:
Michigan is an ideal destination around the holidays.
There are holiday shows at the Fox Theatre in Detroit, which is a gorgeous theater (originally a movie theater built in the “Roaring 20′s”).
It’s been restored with gold leaf and deep red “marble” columns, velvet seats, and hand-painted stenciled ceilings. It’s huge, ornate, and beautifully decorated for the holidays.
An hour outside the city is Bronner’s Christmas Wonderland, the “word’s largest christmas store,” an unapologetically gaudy store filled with room after room of every Christmas ornament and decoration you can imagine. It’s crowded to overflowing with families and impossible to resist buying at least one new ornament for the tree (or ten, in my case).
And downtown is a charming shopping district, complete with a covered bridge (the day we were there even brought a picturesque light dusting of snow)…
…and a colorful, quaint Bavarian town filled with homemade fudge shops, German restaurants, and unique family owned stores.
I made this roast chicken with root vegetables when I returned (when I had tons of laundry to do and email to catch up on) because it’s simple, easy to throw together, and ideal for multi-tasking (the oven does most of the work so you can spend time on other things).
Here are the key the ingredients you’ll need. You’ll also need an onion, which I happened to be out of on this particular day.
Begin by smashing a few garlic cloves to remove the skin…
…and then mince up the garlic.
Grab a bowl and add some olive oil, some Dijon mustard, the minced garlic, and some Herbes de Provence.
Then whisk until everything is well combined.
I love using Herbes de Provence to flavor chicken and vegetables. It’s a mixture of dried herbs like rosemary, thyme, and fennel seed, so it’s an all-natural, healthy way to add tons of delicious flavor to a dish without adding calories.
Set aside the Dijon-herb mixture for now.
Cut the root end off an onion, cut it in half lengthwise, and remove the outer skin.
Then chop up the onion.
There’s no need to take the time to carefully dice any of the vegetables in this dish.
Big, roughly chopped pieces are ideal for roasting the veggies later.
Cut the ends off a few carrots and roughly chop them.
No need to take the time to peel the carrots if you don’t want to – you’re not likely to taste the difference between peeled and unpeeled after roasting. Just be sure to rinse them well and try to buy organic if you can.
Do the same for a few parsnips.
If you haven’t cooked with parsnips, I highly recommend them.
They look like white carrots.
And they taste a bit like carrots, except they’re deliciously sweet.
They’re also nutrition-packed (lots of fiber, folate, antioxidants, minerals, and Vitamin C, Vitamin K, and Vitamin E).
Cut a few red potatoes in half lengthwise and then quarter each half.
Grab some skinless, boneless chicken breasts and cut each into three equally sized portions (to help them cook faster).
Measure out about 2 tablespoons of the Dijon-herb mixture and use a small spatula to spread a thin layer of the mixture over each piece of chicken.
Season the chicken with salt and pepper and set aside.
Next, place all the chopped root vegetables in a large casserole dish.
Spoon the remaining Dijon-herb mixture all over the veggies.
Season well with salt and pepper.
Stir until all the veggies are well coated with the Dijon-herb mixture.
Then place the roasting dish in the oven and allow the veggies to cook for about 20 minutes.
You’re now free for long enough to catch up on Pinterest or wrap a gift or two.
When the veggies are just tender when pierced with a fork, remove them from the oven.
Stir to make sure nothing is sticking to the pan, and then nestle the chicken pieces over the veggies.
Place the dish back in the oven.
Clean the countertops and wash the knife and cutting board and (huge bonus!) you’re finished with kitchen clean-up before the meal has even been served.
When the Dijon-herb sauce begins to lightly brown, the chicken should be cooked through.
This simple dish is a unique, flavorful, gourmet-tasting twist on classic Roast Chicken and Vegetables.
The Dijon and olive oil help keep the chicken moist.
And the delicious combo of herb-seasoned root vegetables are a tasty complement to the roasted chicken.
It’s an easy recipe that should please a crowd.
Here is the complete recipe:
Awww your photos from your trip look incredible my friend
And I love this delicious dinner!
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
This talks to me … love everything about this dish. So it will be done in a near future. And only one dish to wash up – PERFECT!
And I love your photo from your Michigan trip. Nobody does Christmas like you, Americans.
I lovee the Christmas town!! I wanna go now! This meal looks so good, that sauce and those veggies..yummm.
It certainly looks like a Christmas wonderland!
I love this dish! Roasted chicken and vegetables are a staple around here and these flavors are perfect!
P.s Random stalking note,
)
You and your partner are so gosh darn cute!! Only if Calvin was there
-Megan (your loyal Australian stalker
This is like the perfect meal for a cold winter’s night! love it.
Well, thank God the Powers in Detroit had the good common sense to keep the venerable Fox Theatre: we had two similar ones way back when in Sydney, complete with huge Wurlitzer organs for interval playing – very unfortunately modernity has taken over. Thank you for the lovely recipe: so appropriate for busy pre-Yule meals
!
What a fun trip to Michigan! That little Bavarian square looks so cute and inviting! I’d love to wander in and out of the fudge shops, sampling all the delicious treats! Your chicken and root veggie dinner is PERFECT for after a long day! Easy to put together and so healthy and delicious! You’ve stolen my heart, girly!
Looks like a great trip! I love quick and easy dinners like this one too!
Cute pics! This dish looks so good – love dijon, herbs, and anything roasted!
Jen this looks amazing. I love Herbes de Provence, but whole foods also sells it in mustard form which is outrageous. OMG! You are such a beautiful girl.. gorgeous pics of you. Michigan is so cute during the holidays.
Your photos are making me drool! The chicken looks beautiful!
Beautiful photographs of you and your sweetie. As always you come up with the perfect time saver and a most welcome delicious and easy meal for the season. Can’t wait to try it. Thanks and merry Christmas!
Joy
This is a beautiful dish!! I love one pot walk away meals. Especially right now when I have so much else going on. Looks like a great trip! I’ve never been to Michigan, but my cousin was married there in a fantastic barn wedding a few months ago– I think it’s a picturesque place year round!!
Such beautiful pictures
Looks like you had a lot of fun! Is the 4th picture upside down or is it just my imagination? Roast vegies are my favourite comfort food <3
One dish meals are always a winner for weeknights. Thanks for sharing.
It is gorgeous there! And I love your one dish roast chicken! It’s so easy and so healthy:)
thanks for sharing the pictures of Michigan. I’ve never been there so it’s nice to see pictures. What an fascinating movie theater. Sounds like y’all had a lovely trip and what lovely pictures of you and the hubby. Great dish to throw in the oven while you catch up from your travels. It’s nice having quick and easy recipes during the holidays. Thanks for sharing!
Beautiful pictures. Also I love the chicken dish, it looks super yummy.
Looks like a fun trip! This dish looks really good – I can’t get enough root vegetables this time of year and one-pot meals are so great for this busy time of year.
Who knew Michigan was so cute for the holidays!
Your dish looks excellent!! I love how easy it is and healthy!
MUCH better than the dijon abomination I made from Pinterest–yuck. This looks gorgeous. And so do your Christmastime advantures
Looks like a great dinner idea! I love your photos!
Looks yummy! A great fall meal.
I’m always grateful for one pot meals at this time of year when it’s so busy. It’s another one I’m going to try thank you x
I live in Europe and at first glance I thought your pictures were taken here. What a lovely town and it’s in Michigan. I can certainly see what a great destination it makes. Your chicken looks amazing and love that oven does all the work.
Your trip looks so fun! This recipe looks fantastic
I love dijon with chicken. The flavors go together perfectly!
Beautiful pics! I love the monster Christmas tree…and the chicken looks pretty tasty too
Wandering around the blogosphere today, avoiding any productive work, and happily stumbled upon your site. I love your cooking philosophy! I have also been working on converting a meat-and-potatoes guy into,now, a self-described “veggie monster”. One of my goals for2013 is to be more consistent with sharing recipes and to learn how to take better photos. Yours are lovely!
Wishing you a very Merry Christmas from Maryland
Melanie
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