Roast Chicken with Sage Brown Butter Sweet Potatoes

It's still in the 80's and 90's here in Southern California, so the other day I decided to really force fall upon us. We had the AC on so the house wasn't too hot, a pumpkin apple candle was burning, and fall decor was everywhere. It really did feel like fall, unless you ventured outside. The best part of the day was dinner, it was so incredibly delicious and satisfying. I roasted a couple of chicken breasts for us, steamed some frozen veggies, and the star of the show was these sage brown butter sweet potatoes. I used my spiralizer to make them into noodles. It was an enormous waste of time in the end. I was flipping them very gently while they cooked but I still ended up with more of a sweet potato hash, still tasty though. I would recommend a small dice if you make these. Unless you want a killer arm workout from turning sweet potatoes into noodles! 

Roast Chicken Breasts

     serves 2-4

• 2 chicken breasts, about 8-12 ounces, depending on the size
• 1 tsp olive oil
• pinch of ground thyme, salt, and pepper to taste
• cooking spray
• parchment paper

I used this technique from The Kitchn to bake my chicken breasts, they turned out lovely. Still juicy and flavorful and they were very easy to prepare. Grease a small baking dish with cooking spray, then add the chicken breasts and season with thyme, salt, and pepper. Drizzle with one teaspoon of olive oil and cover with parchment paper. Bake at 400 degrees F, mine took 40 minutes to fully cook through. Make sure you let these rest for at least 10 minutes before serving, this will give the juices a chance to redistribute throughout the chicken. 

Sage Brown Butter Sweet Potatoes

     serves 4

• 1 lb. sweet potatoes, about 2 medium, peeled
• about 1/2 cup chopped white onion (I had 10 tbsp worth)
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 3 Tbsp unsalted butter
• pinch of ground sage, about 1/16 tsp
• salt and pepper to taste

In a small light colored sauce pan add the butter and melt over medium-low heat. Once it starts to darken in color add a pinch of ground sage and salt and cook for another minute. Set aside until the sweet potatoes are ready. You can really tell when your butter has turned into brown butter, it's very fragrant and smells a little nutty. Be careful it doesn't darken too much, or else you will have burned butter instead! 

In a large skillet over medium heat add one tablespoon of olive oil, then saute the onion until it starts to develop some color. Add in the sweet potatoes (either a small dice, julienne, or spiralized would work) and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until the sweet potatoes are tender and have developed some color. This took me about 8 minutes. When the sweet potatoes are done spoon over the three tablespoons of brown butter sauce and stir to combine. Serve this with a cup of steamed veggies and you have a hearty and satisfying meal!

Per serving (4 ounces chicken, serving of sweet potatoes, cup of steamed vegetables): 341 calories, 25 grams of net carbohydrates, 27 grams of protein, and 12 grams of fat.