Cast Iron Skillet Chicken and Summer Vegetables

If you live in the south like me, you might be lucky enough to have a garden that is still producing summer veggies.  I am still getting pretty little cherry tomatoes, a few squash here and there, and my eggplant is still trucking along.  It makes me sad to see my summer garden slowing down, so I'm savoring the vegetables that it is producing for as long as I can.

I came up with this dish as a way to utilize the bounty from my garden as a fresh and beautiful accompaniment to inexpensive cuts of chicken; like leg quarters, thighs or drumsticks.  You can use almost any vegetables that you have on hand to customize this dish to your family's tastes.  With simply seasoned vegetables and juicy chicken, my whole family is satisfied, not to mention the fact that one pan makes preparation and clean-up are a breeze!



Ingredients

• 3 chicken leg quarters, 7 chicken drumsticks or 5 chicken thighs
• ½ tsp kosher salt
• ¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper
• ¼ tsp garlic powder
• 2 tbsp olive oil, split
• 4 cups summer vegetables (pick one or use a few: squash, zucchini, eggplant, green beans, bell pepper, cherry tomatoes, mushrooms, onions, etc.)

Instructions

1. Preheat your oven to 400°.  Wash and cut your vegetables into bite sized slices or chunks.  Set aside.
2. Preheat 1 tbsp of olive oil in a large cast iron skillet over medium high heat.  Season the chicken with the salt, pepper and garlic powder.  Place skin side down in the skillet and cook for 5 minutes, or until the skin is golden.  Flip the chicken over and cook for an additional 5 minutes.
3. Fill in the gaps around the chicken with the vegetables.  (Don't be afraid to pile the veggies up.  They'll cook down.)  Drizzle the vegetables with the remaining 1 tbsp of olive oil and season with additional salt and pepper.
4. Bake in the preheated oven for 40 minutes, or until chicken reaches 180°.

Notes

• Source: Me
• If desired, you can add additional herbs to season your chicken and veggies. Try rosemary, thyme or parsley!
• Pictured: (left) Drumsticks with green beans and mushrooms, (right) Leg quarters with summer squash and red onion.