The first Friday of the month is reserved for recipes. You can see additional First Friday Food posts here.

The Reason:

You know, I share a lot of recipes on this blog, but sometimes I yearn for simpler days. The kind of thing my mom would have cooked, growing up. Just a regular, old steak chicken-and-potatoes kind of meal.

This is that meal.

The Journey:

I have practically nothing to say about this recipe, because it’s just what you would expect. Sometimes, simplest is best: just a few standard ingredients that you already have.

This makes a decent amount of food, and the best part is that the main dish and side dishes are made all at the same time. Still, this would be easy to scale up or down, as the situation dictates (although it never hurts to scale it up and have some leftovers!)

In the picture here it’s all piled up on one pan, but in reality we bake it on two so that everything can crisp up a bit better.

The Verdict:

This just really hits the spot. It’s just so exactly perfect, and exactly what you want on a still-a-little-bit-cold-a-little-bit-rainy spring evening. This is the kind of easy-to-make staple that we need in heavy rotation for dinners at our house.

Clearly something about this recipe makes-me-want-to-use-hyphens.

The Recipe:

Recipe adapted from Damn Delicious:

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 rounded teaspoon Italian seasoning
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 1/2 pounds baby red potatoes, halved
• ~1 1/4 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 4 – 5 pieces
• ~4 heads broccoli cut into florets (or 2 bags of frozen broccoli)

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Lightly oil 2 baking sheets or coat with nonstick spray.
2. In a small bowl, whisk together butter, honey, brown sugar, Dijon, garlic, Italian seasoning; season with salt and pepper, to taste. Set aside.
3. Place potatoes in a single layer onto two prepared baking sheets. Drizzle with 1 tablespoon olive oil and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Top with chicken in a single layer and brush each chicken breast with honey mixture.
4. Place into oven and roast about 15 minutes. Stir in broccoli and continue roasting for another 20 minutes. Then broil for 2-3 minutes, or until caramelized and slightly charred. Remove top baking sheet from the oven and move the bottom baking sheet to the top rack; broil for 2-3 minutes.