Root Beer chicken is a quick and easy way to liven up dinner. Here’s the recipe.
The countdown to school is under way, with a week or two left of summer. While this summer has been a bore, try to make the most of the remaining days with quick and easy meals that make way for more time spent with the family.
Most home cooks get stuck in the kitchen while family members relax inside or enjoy the sunshine outdoors. These cooks need to make haste with dinner preparations so they can join in the fun.
Sheet pan meals are one way to go. I enjoy making these one-dish meals now. I bought a countertop oven/convection oven that has room for 13-by-9-inch pans, which means no more heating the whole kitchen.
I like putting all the ingredients in one baking dish or sheet pan, setting the timer and taking a break.
I have a few well-known chefs that I follow and use their recipes because of the seasonings they use and because the recipes do not require much time.
The late Art Ginsburg (Mr. Food) gained popularity for his easy recipes. As a Type II diabetic, I enjoyed his “Quick & Easy Diabetic Cooking” and also his “Quick & Easy Recipes.” His diabetic cookbook gave me hope that diabetic meals did not have to be boring and could taste good.
In today’s recipes, I include one of his recipes that is anything but boring, a root beer chicken.
TV host and chef Rachael Ray recipes shake up dinner with her favorite of flavors and ethnic dishes. I made her Greek sheet pan chicken and potatoes last week. So good. All I had to add was a salad. Like I said, easy does it. The kitchen was cool, and dinner was ready in 45 minutes to an hour. The Greek flavors of oregano and lemon delivered great flavor. The recipe calls for pepperoncini, but I did not have any on hand and wasn’t going to the store. I went without them, and the recipe still worked.
Where Mr. Food’s and Ray’s recipes, call for a whole chicken, I only use boneless, skinless chicken breasts because that is what my family eats. No sense wasting food.
Make dinner burst with flavor with these easy ideas.
Root beer chicken
1 (3 to 3 1/2 pound) chicken, cut into 8 pieces.
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 cup root beer
1 cup ketchup
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
3 tablespoons light brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with cooking spray.
Place chicken pieces in baking dish; season with salt and pepper; Bake 45 to 50 minutes, or until no pink remains in chicken and juices run clear.
In a medium saucepan, combine remaining ingredients; mix well and bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat to medium-low and sinner 20 minutes, until sauce is reduced by half.
Preheat grill to medium. Coat chicken with sauce and grill 5 minutes per side, basting frequently with sauce. Serve with remaining sauce for dipping.
A salad and fresh corn on the cob make good side dishes. – “Quick & Easy Recipe” from Mr. Food
Greek sheet pan chicken with feta and pepperoncini
2 bulbs garlic, 16 to 18 cloves, peeled and trimmed of root end
About 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
8 pieces bone-in, skin-on chicken or 12 pieces of skinless chicken thighs or 6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, halved across
3 tablespoons fresh oregano, chopped (or 1 tablespoon dried), plus more to finish
2 halved lemons, plus 1/3 cup lemon juice
Kosher salt and black pepper
1 1/2 pounds fingerling or small thin-skinned potatoes
12 to 16 ounces feta cheese, cut into large cubes
1/2 cup flat-leaf parsley, to finish
1 cup Greek pepperoncini peppers, optional
Place garlic in small pot and cover with oil, heat over medium heat until hot, then reduce heat to low and gently cook garlic about 20 to 25 minutes to light tan caramel in color, Remove from oil and mash with knife into paste. Let oil and mashed garlic cool.
Preheat oven to 425 degrees with rack in center.
Pour oil over chicken and add mashed garlic. Add oregano, halved lemons, lemon juice, salt and pepper.
Place potatoes in a pot, cover with water, bring to a boil and cook 5 to 6 minutes at full boil. Drain, halve and add to chicken and toss gently so you don’t destroy the potatoes.
Arrange on a foil-lined baking sheet, with all the chicken pieces, skin-side up and the potatoes a mix of skin- or cut-side up. Tuck feta all around it.
Roast chicken and tray of potatoes 45 to 60 minutes until potatoes are crisp and chicken is 160 degrees on thermometer and feta chunks are browned. Top with parsley and oregano. Douse potatoes with juice of roasted lemons and top chicken with chopped or whole pepperoncini. – Recipe by Rachael Ray
Andrea Yeager can be reached at ayeager51@cableone.net and Cooks Exchange, 205 DeBuys Road, Biloxi, MS 39535-4567.