WEEKNIGHT MEALS

For the One Pot Chicken

Start by peeling and cubing sweet potatoes. Set aside.

Peel, core, and dice Granny Smith apples. Mince some fresh sage. Set aside.

Take chicken thighs and season with salt and pepper on the skin side.

Add a little oil to a stainless steel or cast iron skillet and put over high heat. Once it’s ripping hot, add chicken thighs, skin side down. Season meat side with salt and pepper. Flip when they’re brown and pull away cleanly from the bottom of the pan. Cook for a few minutes but don’t cook them through, you just want some color on there.

Remove chicken and all but 1 tbsp of chicken fat in the pan. Add sweet potatoes and Granny Smith apples. Sauté over medium heat for about 5-7 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

Deglaze with a few glugs of bourbon, and after the alcohol has burned off add enough chicken stock to see it pool under the potatoes and apples. Add minced sage, and mix to combine.

Add the chicken back to the pan making sure it’s skin side up and place the whole thing in the oven preheated to 375°F and cook until thickest part of the chicken thigh reaches 175°F.

Roughly chop some pecans and toast them.

Add some lemon juice to the pan with the chicken, potatoes, and apples.

Top the whole thing with toasted pecans and chives.

Serve and enjoy!

For the One Pan Sheet Salmon

Start by halving some baby Yukon gold potatoes, placing them in a bowl and coating them with olive oil. Season with salt and pepper, and mix to combine.

Place on a preheated baking sheet that has been in a 400°F oven for about 20 minutes. Make sure all potatoes are slice side down and cook for about 25 minutes.

While potatoes are cooking, cut the ends off of a bunch of asparagus, place in a bowl and toss with olive oil, salt, and pepper.

In a small bowl combine garlic, lemon juice, dijon mustard, a good glug of olive oil, salt and pepper. Mix to combine.

Generously coat your fish with your vinaigrette mixture.

Remove pan with potatoes from the oven and use a spatula to mix them up, but keep them on the pan, and put on one side. In the middle of the pan place your salmon, skin side down, and on the other side place your asparagus.

Place back in the oven for 15 minutes or until salmon reaches in internal temperature of 125°F. Top salmon with some chives.

Plate up, serve and enjoy!

For the Creamy Pesto Cavatelli

Heat a medium pot of salted water to boiling on high. Wash and dry the fresh produce. Quarter the zucchini lengthwise, then thinly slice crosswise. If necessary, peel the garlic, then roughly chop. Quarter the tomatoes; place in a bowl and season with salt and pepper. Stir to coat.

Add the pasta to the pot of boiling water. Cook, stirring occasionally, 9 to 11 minutes, or until al dente (still slightly firm to the bite). Reserving ½ cup of the pasta cooking water, drain thoroughly.

While the pasta cooks, in a large pan (nonstick, if you have one), heat a drizzle of olive oil on medium-high until hot. Add the sliced zucchini in an even layer. Cook, without stirring, 3 to 4 minutes, or until lightly browned. Add the chopped garlic and as much of the red pepper flakes as you’d like, depending on how spicy you’d like the dish to be. Season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring frequently, 2 to 3 minutes, or until slightly softened. Turn off the heat and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Add the cooked pasta, spinach, seasoned tomatoes, cheese, and half the reserved pasta cooking water to the pan of cooked zucchini. Cook on medium-high, stirring vigorously, 1 to 2 minutes, or until thoroughly combined and the spinach is wilted. Stir in the pesto (if the pasta seems dry, gradually add the remaining cooking water to achieve your desired consistency). Turn off the heat and season with salt and pepper to taste. Enjoy!