Food

Food for Thought | One Pan Italian Chicken

Do you use Pinterest? Do you have a food board? I think I have four. I did not consult prior to starting this post. Do you find yourself pinning things to boards ” for later” + never going back? I know I’m guilty of this. I do know my main food board, “Hungry?,” has 395 pins. How many have I used? Maybe 10-15. They’ve all been fantastic + I’ve made most of them multiple times. They’ve become some of my favorite recipes. Hopefully I’ll get to more of the “less unhealthy” recipes on this board. Hey, I’ve been pinning since college! But I want to share one of my favorite dishes with you. It’s super simple to make for the average size-d family, can be easily be adapted for a bigger family + perfect if you meal prep.

There are recipes for this all over the internet, but I initially followed Cooking with Chrystal that I found on Pinterest. I’ve tweaked hers to fit my family + you can easily do the same.

Ingredients

I’m great at cooking but I definitely need to work on my plating. But sometimes, like the first night I made this back in February, I was hungry + didn’t care.

  • 4-6 chicken breasts, I cut mine up into smaller sizes
  • Potatoes, cut up ( i used about 20-25 small ones)
  • Green beans, fresh (about 1/2 pound) or 1 can, drained
  • 1 stick of butter
  • 1packet of Italian Dressing Mix
  • foil, to cover

Directions

  1. Arrange all the cut up chicken in the center, then the potatoes on one side, and green beans on the other.
  2. Sprinkle a packet of Italian Dressing Mix over the entire top and then pour over a melted stick of butter.
  3. Cover with foil and bake at 350 F for 1 hour.

First of all, I know what you’re thinking. A whole stick of butter sounds like a lot. I hear you! But the first time I made it I found myself basting the veggies so they didn’t dry out. I happened to have purple fingerling potatoes in the fridge. I bought them at Super Target because they taste like regular potatoes but add a great color to your plate. You can still cube regular potatoes, this is just a bit more fun! I used Target’s Market Pantry brand Italian dressing mix. Market Pantry items almost always have Cartwheel discounts and in a box of four was about $0.30 cheaper per packet than the Hidden Valley brand, but you can use whatever you prefer! Crystal’s recipe calls for the seasoning to be sprinkled on before the butter is poured over but I’ve never made it that way. To me it seems silly to put a dry seasoning on then pour something wet over it. It seems to me all the seasoning would wash away. So I reversed the order + it works fantastically. I’ve also switched from butter to olive oil in an attempt to make this already delicious meal even better.

My parents loved it + it travels well the next day if you meal prep or are just taking leftovers for lunch. The chicken stays juicy, the potatoes soft + the green beans still have life in them. I’m not a fan of old beans. Give this one a shot! The prep time is only 10 minutes tops. I’ve gotten this one down to five now that I’m not waiting to melt butter + now that I have the recipe memorized. Once it’s in the oven, you have a whole hour to get household chores done, work on the work you brought home or watch almost three full episodes of Friends. Let me know in the comments what you think!

xo.