Honey Curried Chicken & Root Vegetables

It is the first day of autumn and there is nothing better than to fill the kitchen with warm spices and fresh bounty of fall vegetables.

Ingredients:

  • 2 – 2 1/2 pounds of skinned chicken breasts
  • 3 large potatoes quartered or 9 – 12 whole baby potatoes
  • 2 medium turnips peeled and cut into eighths
  • 3 – 6 carrots peeled and cut into large bites
  • 6 – 9 shallots cloves separated and cut in half *
  • 1/2 cup honey
  • 1/4 cup whole dijon mustard
  • 2 – 3 tbsp water
  • 2 cloves garlic minced
  • 1 tbsp unsalted butter
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 2 tsp curry powder
  • 1/4 tsp ground ginger
  • 1/4 tsp crushed dried chiles

Directions:

Place all vegetables in a steamer and steam for about 15 – 20 minutes (you can also boil in a large pot in you prefer).  While vegetables are cooking preheat oven to 375 degrees F. In a small saucepan, add honey, water, mustard, garlic, butter, chiles, curry, salt & gingers and bring to a slow boil stirring constantly. Remove from heat and set aside.  

Trim any excess fat off the chicken breasts.  Spray a shallow pyrex roasting pan with cooking spray and lay breasts evenly.  Add steamed root vegetables and fill any open gaps.  Pour 1/2 of the curry honey mixture over the chicken and with a basting brush, spread sauce over the chicken and vegetables.  Bake uncovered for 35 – 40 minutes basting the remaining sauce every 10 – 15 minutes until no more mixture remains.

Serve hot.

* If you do not have shallots, you can substitute quarter chipolini onions or even add 2 tbsp dried minced onions to the sauce instead.

The Dirty Dozen – When To Buy Organic and When To Skip It If Your Budget Does Not Allow It

We all know that we really should buy organic as much as possible (it’s healthier for us and it supports the small scale farmer).  But there are times when one simply cannot afford to totally go organic.  Thankfully research has been done from the Environmental Working Group and below in ranking order of fruits and vegetables from worst with pesticide residue (buy organic at all costs) to the best with the least amount of residue (OK to buy non-organic). Detailed data sheet can be found here.

Rank (worst to best)

Buy Organic At All Costs

1 Peaches 
2 Apples 
3 Sweet Bell Peppers 
4 Celery 
5 Nectarines 
6 Strawberries 
7 Cherries 
8 Lettuce 
9 Grapes – Imported 
10 Pears 
11 Spinach 
12 Potatoes 

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