Simple and Rustic Farmhouse Chicken Dinner

The cooler months are the time for hearty food with ingredients from the farmhouse garden. Recently I asked my Instagram audience what kind of content they’d like to see for the season. A number commented that they wanted quick dinners they could make after a long day at work. Believe me, over the years, I became the queen of the easy dinner. I wanted to feed the family nutritious meals but did not want to spend hours at the end of the day creating something that would be gone in five minutes. (If you’ve ever fed a teenage boy, you will know what I mean!) So here is my favourite easy chicken recipe. It’s quick to prepare and can be customised according to what you have in the fridge. It’s my One Pan Chicken Dinner.

Ingredients for this Simple Chicken Dinner

• 6 chicken thighs
• 4 Tbsp olive oil, divided
• 1 1/2 Tbsp red wine vinegar
• 3 cloves garlic, minced (1 Tbsp)
• 1 Tbsp each chopped fresh thyme, sage and rosemary
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 large sweet potato chopped into 3/4-inch cubes
• 450g Brussels sprouts, sliced into halves
• 2 medium fuji apples, cored and cut in wedges
• 1 onion cut in wedges
• 4 slices bacon, chopped
• 2 Tbsp chopped parsley, for garnish (optional)

How to Cook this Easy Chicken Recipe

• Preheat oven to 200 degrees c. (or 180 fan forced)
• Pour half of the olive oil, the red wine vinegar, garlic and herbs into a large bowl
• Add chicken, season with salt and pepper then massage mixture over chicken while working to evenly distribute herbs. Set aside.
• Place sweet potato, Brussels sprouts, apples and onion on a large baking tray. I put a piece of baking paper under but this is optional.
• Drizzle with remaining 2 Tbsp olive oil then toss to evenly coat, season with salt and pepper to taste. Spread into an even layer.
• Place chicken thighs on top of the vegetables and apple
• Separate any pieces of bacon that may be stuck together then sprinkle bacon over the mixture.
• Roast in preheated oven until chicken and veggies are golden brown, about 30 – 35 minutes.
• Garnish with parsley if desired and serve warm.

This dinner is yummy served with a slice of rustic beer bread. The good thing is you can make the bread first and pop it in the oven. While it cooks get the chicken ready and then put that in for the remainder of the hour the bread is cooking. If there are only two of you at home now (like at the farm) this meal lasts us three days. It’s nice eaten cold too or reheated.