SHEET-ZAM!!!

Sheet pan meals are all the rage, even if that movie didn't do too well. Everybody's doing them. The young - Half Baked Harvest's Teighan has tons of fabulous ideas and recipes; the wise - some of Martha Stewart's recipes are HERE (AND she sells the actual SHEET PANS too); and the divine - Nigella's sheet pan chicken and peas is SO good. 

Long ago, I started my own version of sheet pan meals by throwing everything on a foil-lined baking sheet whenever a recipe called for skewering ingredients. It was easier and quicker, but more importantly, things cooked more evenly on all sides than when they were crammed together on a skewer. And now sheet-panning is a real thing. 

Apricot and Mustard Sheet Pan Chicken

>Jump to Apricot and Mustard Sheet Pan Chicken

>Jump to Lemon Garlic Sheet Pan Chicken

For the Apricot and Mustard Sheet Pan Chicken, I start with the longer cooking vegetables - the potatoes and sweet potatoes. I toss them in a big bowl with olive oil, Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper. 

I pile them on a foil-lined baking sheet, sprayed with vegetable spray. Take a minute longer and make sure the flat side of each potato is DOWN. You’ll be rewarded with a nice char on the flesh side of the vegetable (as opposed to the skin side). In other words, when you pile the ingredients onto the baking sheet, inevitably some pieces of potato will land rounded side down. Just tweak them by making sure that the flat sides are down. Maybe it's just me, but I think that side benefits more from getting nice and crusty than the skin side. 

 

Can you see that I missed one little piece of potato? 

I cook the potatoes at 425°F for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, I toss chunks of zucchini, carrots and onions in olive oil, salt and pepper and the boneless chicken thighs get coated in a mustard/apricot jam mixture. 

 

I add these vegetables to the partially cooked potatoes and place the marinated chicken thighs on top. (Make sure you scrape all the marinade onto the chicken.) 

Cook for an additional 30 minutes. And, voila, dinner is done.

Another just-as-simple recipe follows - Lemon Garlic Sheet Pan Chicken. The vegetables are coated with olive oil and the chicken is marinated in a quickly made (in the blender) lemon juice, olive oil and garlic dressing. Orzo is a perfect accompaniment and the extra dressing can be drizzled over the whole dish for a wonderful finish.

 

 

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Apricot and Mustard Sheet Pan Chicken

(serves 3 with leftovers)

For vegetables:

4 Yukon Gold potatoes, cut into chunks

1 large sweet potato, cut into chunks

2 tbls. olive oil

salt and freshly ground black pepper

4 carrots, peeled, cut into chunks

2 zucchini, quartered lengthwise, cut into chunks

2 onions, peeled and cut into chunks

For chicken:

generous 1/3 cup apricot jam

generous 1/3 cup Dijon mustard

6 boneless chicken thighs 

Garnish: a handful of chopped parsley 

In a large bowl, toss Yukon Gold potatoes and sweet potato with 1 tbl. olive oil, salt and pepper. Place on prepared baking sheet, making sure that the flat sides of the vegetables are facing down. Bake at 425°F for 20 minutes. Remove sheet pan from oven. 

Meanwhile, in same bowl, toss carrots, zucchini and onions in remaining olive oil, salt and pepper. Add to sheet pan with potatoes.

Place chicken in medium bowl. Stir together apricot jam and Dijon mustard in small bowl or jam jar. Pour over chicken and mix until well coated. Place on top of vegetables, scraping all the jam mixture over the chicken. Continue baking at 425°F for 30 minutes or until everything is nicely browned.  

Plate the vegetables and place the chicken on top. Garnish with chopped parsley. Serve immediately.

Note: If you want the chicken more browned, place sheet pan under the broiler for 3 or 4 minutes.

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Lemon Garlic Sheet Pan Chicken

(serves 3 with leftovers)

½ cup extra virgin olive oil
½ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 garlic clove, peeled, halved with center stalk removed

Handful of parsley
Pinch of salt and a few good grinds of freshly ground black pepper
6 boneless chicken thighs
1 large red onion, peeled and cut into ¾” chunks
2 thick carrots, cut into ¾’ chunks
2 zucchini, cut into diagonal slices then halved
1 orange or yellow pepper, cut into ¾" pieces

2 to 3 garlic cloves, peeled, halved with center stalk removed and put through a garlic press (OR more...go wild if you want)
For garnish: large handful of chopped parsley

Line a large baking sheet with foil. Spray with nonstick spray. Preheat oven to 425°F.

For the marinade/dressing, place olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, parsley, salt and pepper in blender. Blend until smooth. Carefully spoon a few tablespoons over chicken in medium bowl and coat evenly. Set remaining dressing aside. (Don’t let the spoon that goes into the dressing make contact with the raw chicken.) The chicken can sit at room temperature while you chop the vegetables. 

Place chopped vegetables in large bowl. Stir in a tablespoon of the dressing with the additional garlic. Mix well. Spread out vegetables evenly on prepared baking sheet. Place chicken on top, scraping out all the marinade on top. Bake for 30 minutes until the chicken is nicely browned. Place under broiler for 3 minutes if you want the chicken more browned. 

Spoon vegetables onto platter. Place chicken on top. Spoon over a bit of the dressing and garnish with chopped parsley. Serve remaining dressing separately. 

Lemon Garlic Sheet Pan Chicken