{New} Creamy Lemon Chicken with Rotini & Honey Roasted Tri-Color Carrots and Green Beans

A few nights ago after enjoying a dinner together my husband and I were chatting. We were going over our weeks together and sharing notes on work and life. I asked him how he thought it was going for our family because of the time I have been spending on recipe creation for Winder Farms. We both felt like it was going great. The only criticism my man could come up with was the fact that he loved all the new foods I was making but thought I was never going to repeat a favorite meal again!! Lol. I thought that was such a cute concern for him to have. It is true, that because of the nature of my ever changing ingredients I am cooking with I have been forced to be creative and widely vary the types of foods we make... This is not much different than my usual style of cooking other than the fact that I am incorporating more new recipes in with the regulars than normal. :)

 A while ago I made a creamy lemon chicken meal that we all enjoyed so much, so I thought that I would make that again for my hubby just to show him I was thinking of his concern and longing for a few family favorites. :)

I whipped up this creamy lemon chicken with a few alterations on my first recipe. I decided to go a little lighter on the sauce by halving the amount of cream. I also seasoned it a tad differently. This warm and comforting fall meal went so well with my side dish of honey roasted tri-colored carrots and green beans. These were two of the produce items we are filling the Winder Farms boxes with, and they were gorgeous! I absolutely love tri-colored carrots. The local Utah green beans were wonderful as well. I am always impressed with the impeccable quality of our local green beans.  

I have been so delighted to have more fall like weather the last few days. It has really put me in the mood for some hearty fall cooking! Nothing says fall more than roasted veggies!! I am more of a purist usually when it comes to my roasted veggies, but I have been branching out lately in my ideas of fun flavorings for roasting. I went simple this time and added a drizzle of honey to my usual EVOO, salt and pepper. It brought out the most fabulous flavor in the carrots. They were definitely the star of the meal for everyone at the table. Come along with me and lets cook up some fall dinner for your family!

This might sound funny, but this made for the BEST leftovers! I usually am not the hugest fan of leftover food, but this was seriously just as good later. 

This side dish was quite the looker. The colors were unbelievable. Cutting the carrots in half to roast them really gave them an interesting look and showed off the colors so well. The "orange" carrots were slightly pinkish too which I loved. They had such a great texture.

So, lets get started!

First I pounded down the chicken breasts to an even 1/2 inch in thickness. This really makes them easier to pan sear and cook evenly rather than having tougher edges of the chicken. Lay them out and season the breasts with rosemary, oregano, garlic powder, cayenne pepper, salt and pepper. Be sure to season both sides of the breast. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add olive oil and butter to the pan. When it starts to sizzle, place chicken breasts into the pan and brown each side well (about 5 minutes per side). Once chicken is browned, reduce heat to medium and finish cooking until chicken is fully done. Place chicken onto a plate to rest and set aside. 

In the same skillet (don't wash skillet) add olive oil and butter and return to medium-high heat. When it starts to sizzle add onion, garlic and rosemary. Saute for 4-5 minutes or until onions become slightly translucent. Add in lemon juice and zest. Pour in heavy cream. Add flour and whisk really well until it is fully combined and there are no lumps. Pour in milk and chicken stock. Whisk well to combine. Turn up heat to medium-high and bring to a simmer. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Reduce heat to medium and allow sauce to reduce to desired thickness, (about 10 minutes). 

Place chicken breasts back into sauce and serve over cooked rotini pasta. 

For Honey Roasted Tri-Colored Carrots and Green Beans: Preheat oven to 450 degrees and place rack at the center of the oven. Wash carrots, and cut off greens leaving about 1 inch of the top left. Chop off stringy root ends at the tip of the carrot. Peel carrots to reveal brighter color. Cut thick carrots in half lenghtwise. Wash green beans. Dice a yellow onion. 

Line a rimmed baking sheet. place carrots, green beans and diced onions on the baking sheet. Drizzle with honey and olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. 

Toss veggies with hands until evenly coated. Oooh! Aren't those colors amazing? Talk about eating the rainbow! Place baking sheet in oven and roast for 12-15 minutes or until carrots are tender at the thickest part. 

Remove from oven and serve hot along with your Creamy Lemon Chicken with Rotini! YUM!

I would say that is a pretty good fall meal! Delish.

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Happy Cooking friends!

xo

Laura