I tried it so you would know #2 (Plated Meal: Skillet Roast Chicken with Caramelized Fennel and Potatoes)

Hello readers!  I am here with the second recipe I received during my free week of Plated.  If you recall I showed you my first foray last week with Beef fajitas.  I made that first because I knew I would like it.  I was a little skeptical with this second one.  Only because of one ingredient, fennel. Fennel is licorice tasting if you don't know and brings back bad memories of Jagermeister shots being poured down your throat while they are playing the LSU fight song at Fred's in Tigerland.  It is not my favorite taste.  I have actually never purchased it or cooked with it, so I was kind of excited to try something new...and also scared I was going to ruin dinner!

But guess what, I loved it!  It didn't overpower the dish and blended well with the other ingredients! This meal was good for someone like me that is trying to expand their palate and try new recipes. But again, these meal delivery companies do not take time off the cooking end, just the meal planning and grocery shopping end.  This said it would take 40-50 minutes and it took about 45.  It was nice that I only had one pan to clean, however I still had to do multiple plates.

Bottom line-I liked this service but it is not targeted for me.  I am a single frugal wannabee chef who loves meal planning and grocery shopping.  If you want a nice meal on the table in under an hour and are overwhelmed by meal planning and grocery shopping or just want to try meals you would never usually try, then this service is for you.  I was impressed with how fancy the meals came out with simple ingredients and I would recommend it, but will probably not pay for this service unless suddenly I inherit a bunch of kids and lose my free time to meal plan and shop, or suddenly lose my love of those things.  But you, you should try it for yourself!  And you should try this recipe in any event, it is really good! Linking up with Meal Plan Monday #102

Here is the picture and description.  I was happy mine came out like the picture!
The ingredients.  It is so nice that it is all parceled out for you.
Here is the step by step.
I am assuming this is how you core fennel, this is the one step they did not explain properly.
As I said, it is still a lot of chopping. But I like chopping.
Onions, fennel, salt and pepper.  All we are missing is garlic!
Cook until it looks like this, almost caramelized.
Slice the potatoes and toss in oil, salt and pepper.
Make you sauce...Easiest sauce I have ever made!  Just pour in pre-portioned stuff!
Brown your chicken on each side.
Remove chicken, then add it back after you add the fennel and onions.  Then pour on the sauce.
Hello potato.  Thanks Plated for giving me a reason to have carbs!
I love it when it looks just like the picture!
I was clearly happier with this iteration of Plated, mostly because it made me go out of my comfort zone.  Next week we will have some Blue Apron and compare!


Skillet Roast Chicken with Caramelized Fennel and Potatoes: (Courtesy of Plated)
1 lemon, halved
1 bulb fennel, cored and sliced thin
10 ounces Yukon gold potatoes sliced thin
1 onion sliced thin
2 boneless skin on chicken breasts
1/4 teaspoon fennel seed
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon Rosemary
1/4 teaspoon thyme
1 tablespoon honey
olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 425.  Saute onion and fennel in olive oil in a cast iron skillet  over medium high heat.  Season with salt and pepper. Cook until desired softness and remove from pan to set aside. Season chicken with salt and pepper and add to pan skin side down.  Sear for five minutes.  Turn over to sear for about a minute or two while you combine lemon, honey and spices to make sauce, and toss potatoes in oil, salt and pepper. Add fennel and onions back to pan and maneuver to stick chicken on top.  Cover with sauce and add to preheated oven.  Also place potatoes in oven.  Cook all until cooked through for about 12-15 minutes.  Divide potatoes between plates, split onions and fennel in half and cover potatoes.  Place a piece of chicken on top and enjoy!

Happy Cooking!

Missy



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