​Creamy Spiced Apple Pecan Chicken With Brussels and Roasted Sweet Potatoes

I made this delicious recipe back in January and haven't made it since, so I am bringing it back for Thanksgiving week! I decided to throw in some shaved Brussels this time to get some vegetables in the meal though, so that did make it taste different then the last time. Nonetheless, this still turned out tasting great! Like last time, I swapped the cardamom spice for nutmeg, but you can probably use allspice or more cinnamon instead too. I actually looked for cardamom at the store and it was $15, so there was no way I was purchasing that for one meal. I also omitted the arrowroot starch/water combination, which is just there if you want to thicken up the sauce some. While the chicken was cooking, I roasted my sweet potatoes in the oven and threw some Brussels in the food processor. Once my chicken was done and apples were softened some, I poured in the coconut milk, added the shaved Brussels, and cooked for another 5-10 minutes until softened. I ended up using a Dutch oven to cook everything in, so I put the top on to help the Brussels cook faster. If you are not a fan of Brussels then make this recipe as is below without adding them! This meal is a lot more sweet and savory without the Brussels, but a little more nutritious with them. If you give this one a try let me know how you like it!

​Creamy Spiced Apple Pecan Chicken 
Ingredients:

• 4 large chicken breasts (I used about 2lbs)
• 2 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• ½ tsp cardamom
• ½ tsp salt
• 3 tbsp olive oil, divided
• 1 clove garlic, crushed
• 2 large apples, peeled and diced into ½ inch chunks
• 1 cup chopped pecans
• 1.5 cups full fat coconut milk (I used SO Delicious Original Culinary Coconut Milk)
• 1 tbsp arrowroot starch
• 1 tbsp water

Directions:

1. Begin by heating a large skillet to medium high heat.
2. Prepare your chicken breasts by pounding them to be thinner, and possibly cutting them in half.
3. In a small bowl stir together the cumin, cinnamon, cardamom and salt. Coat or rub the chicken with spices.
4. Add 2 tbsp olive oil to your pan once hot, and begin to cook the chicken. Sear on each side for 2-3 minutes (depending on thickness of chicken). Chicken does not need to be fully cooked, but almost cooked. Set aside and cover with foil.
5. Place remaining olive oil in the skillet and add garlic, apples, and pecans. Cook for 3-4 minutes or until apples soften and pecans are fragrant. Continue to scrape the bottom of the pan to collect spices from the chicken.
6. Pour in coconut milk, and scrape the bottom of the pan to flavor the sauce. Add Chicken back to the skillet.
7. In a small bowl, mix together arrowroot starch and water. Pour into the pan.
8. Cover with a lid and let the mixture cook for another 3-5 minutes, or until the mixture is thickened and chicken is cooked through.

Original recipe found here

My Roasted Sweet Potatoes
Ingredients:

• 4-6 Sweet Potatoes (Depending on how much you want to make. 5 medium sized sweet potatoes usually gets me 6 oz of sweet potato fries for 6 meals. I think my idea of medium sized is bigger than most though.)
• Olive oil spray
• Sea salt (I actually use Garlic Sea Salt on everything I cook)
• Optional: Cinnamon

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees
2. Skin and cut the sweet potatoes into whatever shape you want. I either do fries, wedges or circles.
3. Spray baking pan with olive oil. Lay down sweet potato fries flat (please do not just dump a pile on the pan).
4. I fill my Misto with olive oil and lightly spray the fries, then add some sea salt (sometimes cinnamon too).
5. Bake for 15-20 minutes. Take out of the oven and move them around or flip them over. Bake for another 15-20 minutes.
6. Keep an eye on them, if they are thin bake for less time, and vice versa. Key is to move them around or flip them over half way through baking them. I usually make mine thicker, so I bake them for at least a total of 40 minutes.