Chicken Scallopini, Roasted Cinnamon Sweet Potatoes and Roasted Asparagus

I think it's definitely appropriate to say that this August has been particularly strange weather.  For instance, the beginning of the week felt like it was Fall. Waking up in the morning and walking outside made me feel like I needed some warm pumpkin bread and a hot tea.  Don't get me wrong- the Fall is my favorite time of year but I think it snuck up on me this year! There's a feeling in the air that makes you want to go to outdoor festivals and fairs, wear your favorite boots, a light jacket or sweater, and jump in all of the piles of leaves that will fill up in the next few months.  Anyway, I woke up feeling that it was time to embrace the season of change, kind of start something new again, and enjoy all that the end of summer and the beginning of Fall have to offer.

I don't usually provide entire meals in the recipes, however I really felt that these paired nicely together and it's really an all inclusive meal, providing your taste buds with the best of all worlds.

Ingredients for Chicken Scallopini:

2-4 thinly sliced pieces of chicken breast

1 Lemon

1/2 cup of dry white wine (either cooking wine or your favorite sauvignon blanc, pinot grigio)

1 pint of mushrooms (whichever type you choose)

1 cup of fresh parsley (or dried parsley)

2 Tbsp butter

1/2 cup of flour

Directions:

Place a pan on the stovetop over low heat and place the butter in the pan, allowing it to melt, but not burn! Prepare the chicken and dredge flour, salt and pepper on each piece. Place the chicken in the pan and cook on each side about 5-6 minutes, depending upon the size and thickness, but you want the chicken to turn white, opaque in color.  You can also feel free to cut into the chicken to see if it has cooked through inside and is no longer pink in color.  After the chicken has fully cooked, remove the chicken from stovetop and leave on the side on a plate.  

Prep the mushrooms and slice into quarter sized pieces and place into the same pan (less cleanup work!). Add white wine and the juice from 1 lemon.  The mushrooms will shrink in size as you begin to cook over medium heat.  Finally, add the parsley, chopped up into tiny pieces, or whichever you prefer.  Stirring the mushrooms every so often, you'll cook this mixture for about 10-12 minutes or until the mushrooms have become softened.  Pour the mixture over the top of the cooked chicken. 

Ingredients for Cinnamon Roasted Sweet Potatoes:

2-3 sweet potatoes, cleaned, diced into 2 inch pieces

1/2 Tbsp cinnamon

2 Tbsp olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Toss the diced sweet potatoes, cinnamon, salt, pepper and cinnamon in a bowl. Place on a parchment paper lined baking cookie pan and place in the oven at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes, gently tossing the sweet potatoes so they do not completely stick to the parchment paper.  

Ingredients for Roasted Asparagus:

1 bunch of asparagus

2 Tsp pepper

1/2 Tbsp olive oil

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees, same as sweet potatoes.  Break off the very bottom stems of the asparagus, it should be about 2-3 inches at the bottom of each stalk. It's just not the best part of the asparagus to eat.  Toss in pepper and olive oil and place in a shallow baking dish with about 1/2 cup of water in the bottom of the pan.  This will enable to asparagus to cook more evenly.  Bake for about 20 minutes or until the stalks are soft and you can stick a fork into them.  Drain the water out and gather your family and friends to enjoy the meal!