Lemon and Herb Roasted Chicken and Sweet Potatoes

Quick and easy to prepare, yet easy on the budget.

Trying to feed your family fairly healthy meals on a tight budget while keeping flavour high can be quite a challenge these days.  This meal has some great nutritional value while keeping the cost to serve four people at under fifteen dollars.

Brown the chicken legs to render off some of the fat.

Start by browning four chicken leg quarters.  Not only will browning help give the chicken a better texture, it will render off a lot of the fat.  While your chicken is browning, mix together the ingredients for the marinade you’ll cook the chicken and sweet potatoes in.

These simple ingredients add incredible flavours that go well with both the chicken and sweet potatoes.

I divided the ingredients between the dish for the potatoes and a cup to pour over the chicken.  You can simply mix it in the cup, and pour some into your baking dish if you prefer.

Add 1/2 cup of olive oil, the zest of one lemon, the juice from the lemon, 1 tsp of granulated garlic, 1 tbsp of rosemary, 1 tbsp of sage and 1/2 tsp of salt to a measuring cup or small bowl.  Mix well, and pour half into your dish for the potatoes.

Preheat your oven to 375 and cut three large sweet potatoes into roughly one-inch cubes.  Slice a large onion, and add half to the potatoes in the baking dish.  Toss well to coat.

Toss the sweet potatoes and onions well in the marinade so they’re evenly coated.

Pour the remaining marinade evenly over the chicken and toss in the remaining half of sliced onion.  Slice a lemon thinly and place the slices over the chicken.

Adding extra layers of flavour to the chicken.

If your frying pan is not oven safe, use a separate baking dish for your chicken.  I don’t recommend cooking it in the same dish as the potatoes due to the fat released by the chicken during baking.

Bake the two dishes for 40 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through and the potatoes are fork tender.  While the chicken and sweet potatoes are cooking, you may want to cook a favourite green vegetable for extra vitamins and an added pop of colour for your plates.  I made broccoli with mine.

Remove the lemon slices from the chicken, and give the potatoes a final toss.  Serve up your plates, and enjoy a wonderful burst of flavours that you’ll never guess cost so little to make!

A flavourful and healthy dinner on a shoestring budget!

For those of you that may shudder at the thought of sweet potatoes, I wanted to add that I’m normally in your camp.  I’ve been determined to find a way to cook them that I could actually eat them, and I have to say this is it.  I made sure not to overcook them since I don’t care for the  ”mushy” texture they can acquire, and the lemon and herb marinade gave them a wonderful flavour that I actually enjoyed.  If you’re not a big fan of sweet potatoes but want to try a healthier option to regular potatoes, give this recipe a try…it may surprise you!