The end of February can hold some harsh, draining days for many of us. Now is the time to pull out your comfort food superstars and grace your table with meals that envelope you and your loved ones with warmth, nourishment, and a bit of joy. This week, I'm sharing a few of my favorites. We conclude our journey with an oven roasted dinner that uses one of my favorite workhorses of the kitchen: a cast iron skillet.
Sweet potatoes, chicken, and onions get to spend varying amounts of time in a hot oven with an excellent sweet and spicy buffalo sauce before getting crowned with more onions and crumbled smoked blue cheese. Now I get the cheese from may favorite specialty market in town, but if you don't have a spot to snag this really lovely ingredient, opt for regular blue cheese, feta, or goat cheese. Goat cheese is likely to melt a lot more, but will still be super tasty. And, in the end, isn't that what we're all looking for?
Honestly, there's a place for a creamy slaw (maybe something with some ranch flavoring?) to be served alongside this, but on a cold Friday night, I'm just as likely to pour a beer and dig in. I like to make sure I save a couple sweet potatoes until the end to mop up the sauce and bits of cheese. After all, this is some delicious clean up. Enjoy!
Roasted Sweet Potatoes with Buffalo Chicken & Smoked Blue Cheese
- 2 tablespoon olive oil, divided
- 2 medium/large sweet potatoes, cleaned and chopped into bite-sized pieces
- 1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into 1 inch chunks
- 1 tablespoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- Salt, to taste
- Black pepper, to taste
- 4 tablespoons buffalo sauce
- 2 tablespoons hot honey
- 1 cup sliced green onions, divided
- Crumbled smoked blue cheese, for topping
Preheat the oven to 425°F. Coat a cast iron skillet or other heavy ovenproof pan with olive oil. Toss the chopped sweet potatoes the remaining olive oil and add them to the cast iron skillet. Place the skillet in the preheated oven for 15 minutes.
While the sweet potatoes are in the oven, coat the chicken in the smoked paprika, onion powder, garlic powder, salt, and black pepper. Whisk together the buffalo sauce and hot honey. Drizzle the sauce over the chicken and toss to coat.
Remove the cast iron skillet from the oven and toss the sweet potatoes with half of the green onions. Then add the sauced chicken to the top of the sweet potatoes and place the skillet back in the oven for 20 minutes or until the chicken is fully cooked. Sprinkle the finished dish with the rest of the green onions and crumbled smoked blue cheese. Keep warm until ready to serve.
- Yields: 4-6 servings
- Preparation Time: 40 minutes