Italian Dill Chicken with Roasted Carrots and Potatoes

We call this chicken Italian Dill Chicken because it was created by a good friend of mine, who has since passed away. She was a very good Italian cook among our Italian community where I live. She was a member of my church and most of the women copied her recipe. She created this simply because she loved all of the herbs she put in it.

Dill is in a lot of Italian dishes. The most famous is our porquetta sandwiches. It's a pork roast literally stuffed with fresh (if you can get it) dill and lots of garlic. These sandwiches are usually served cold.

But our subject now is with chicken. Of course there has to be a side dish and one of my favorites is roasted carrots and potatoes. I also love to mix white and sweet potatoes together. Roasting vegetables brings out the natural sweetness in them. Mix these veggies together and your family, even children, will eat them.

Try it, you'll like it! Mangiare bene! (Means eat hearty)

Of course the carrots and potatoes do not take a back seat. Everyone knows you can serve the meat alone; you need a side dish. Preferable one that every one likes. Roasted like this the carrots are sweet as candy (almost) and the potatoes become crispy around the edges and the sweet potatoes just melt in your mouth.

Of course, if you simply don't like the sweet potatoes you can omit them, but mixing the white ones with them, gives something for everyone.

Simply peel and cut up the carrots in chunks and peel and cut the white and sweet potatoes in chunks and place them in your roasting pan. Drizzle them with olive oil and dot them with butter; sprinkle with salt and pepper. That's it. You can put them in the oven with the chicken if you like, they are both cooked at the same temperature. Cook them until they are soft and crispy and "oh so good".

Amounts depends on how many mouths you have to feed. Enjoy!

If you are buying boned in chicken a pound per person is good.

If you are buying boneless chicken, a half a pound per person.

One potato per person and two carrots per person.

Of course this all depends on now big the potatoes and carrots are, and how hearty your family's appetites are. You can be the judge there.

Another good reason for these recipes is chicken, especially chicken thighs are really a good bargain. I can get a large pack, hence the reason for 14 thighs, for just a couple of dollars.

Also potatoes and carrots are among the less expensive vegetables you can buy. Any time I can find or have a recipe that isn't too hard on my grocery bill, I am for. With groceries going up higher every other month, it's good to find a bargain.