Tarragon Chicken with Roast Potatoes and Roast Asparagus

This is actually a diet meal.  If you wish, you can make it full fat simply by changing it up from evaporated skim milk to cream, but it's so wonderful, there's really no need.  The chicken recipe comes from the American Heart Association's Around the World Cookbook, which I bought around 20 years ago.  It's one that I come back to regularly.  The potato recipe is based on one found in Secrets of Healthy Middle Eastern Cuisine, by Sanaa Abourezk, but I changed up the seasonings to go with the French dish.  For vegetables, you could serve instead a fresh green salad, or sauteed vegetables with more tarragon, or even the green beans with bacon and onion I posted a couple years ago.

TARRAGON CHICKEN

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
Vegetable cooking spray, or 1 t olive oil
10 1/2 oz can chicken broth, preferably low sodium
1 small onion, sliced
1/2 cup celery, sliced
2 slices lemon
1 bay leaf
1T dried french tarragon
Salt and pepper
1 T flour
5 oz can evaporated skim milk
Fresh parsley (optional)

Heat the oil or cooking spray in a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Brown the chicken breasts about 2 minutes each side, remove from pan, and set aside.

Add the broth, onion, celery lemon, bay leaf, tarragon, salt and pepper to the skillet and bring to a boil.  Return chicken to the skillet, reduce heat, cover and simmer for ten minutes or until the chicken is cooked through.  With a slotted spoon, remove the chicken and vegetables and set aside.  Discard the lemon slices and bay leaf.

Place flour in a small bowl, and add about 2 T broth.  Stir until smooth.  Whisk in the milk.  Add the mixture to the both, still in the skillet.  Cook over medium heat until it's thickened and bubbly, about 6-9 minutes.  Stir in the parsley if you're using it.

Return the chicken and vegetables to the skillet and spoon sauce over to coat.  Reheat for about 1 minute.  Serves 4.

ROASTED POTATOES

4-5 medium  red skin potatoes
1 cup water
3T lemon juice (use the rest of the lemon from the previous recipe)
1 T olive oil
Herbs de Provence, or a mix of typically French herbs such as tarragon, thyme, marjoram, etc.  Really whatever appeals.   Don't be shy as to how much you use either.
1 clove garlic, minced

Cut the potatoes into one inch cubes and boil about 10-15 minutes, until half cooked.  Place in a baking pan.

Whisk the water, lemon juice and oil together, then mix in the herbs and garlic.  Pour this mixture over the potatoes, and marinate for one hour.  Cook in a 400f oven for 45 minutes, until golden.

ROAST ASPARAGUS

1 bunch asparagus, tough ends broken off and discarded
1 T olive oil
1 T lemon juice
Salt and pepper to taste

Arrange asparagus on a foil lined cookie sheet and drizzle oil and lemon juice over.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Cook alongside the potatoes for the final ten minutes.






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