Getting Ready for the Holidays (Day 3)

Last night's menu was Apricot Chicken with Apple Yams, or in my case, Apple Sweet Potatoes.
I had two left-over chicken breasts from our last meal and this recipe called for just that. The Apple Yams recipe was right below the Lava Rock Potato recipe in my book, and when I saw it, I said, "Um, yes!" I love sweet potatoes (which I confuse with yams, which is why I bought canned sweet potatoes instead). Sweet potatoes are one of the few things I can make into a side dish without a recipe to follow, but I've never made them with apples. It sounded wonderful and very appropriate for the upcoming holidays. Even Rory exclaimed, "It smells like Christmas in here!" when he got home.
Everything was amazing! I swear these recipes just get better and better.
I've never prepared chicken the way this recipe called for -- marinating. I had to marinate the two chickens in rosemary, garlic, salt & pepper and oil. The recipe said for at least an hour, but my chickens ended marinating for almost two. My only problem was that I was supposed to grill the chickens, but we don't have a grill. I opted for cooking them in a frypan which meant no smokey flavor, but it still got the job done.

I wrapped my chickens in foil and set them on a baking sheet in the refrigerator.

This is the apricot glaze. Much, much better than I expected as I mixed dijon mustard with apricot jam.

I used McIntosh apples for the Apple Sweet Potatoes. They are sweet, crisp and great for baking!

I think too much rosemary got in the frying pan and I worried it would overwhelm all of the other flavors. Luckily it didn't mess with anything.

Here are the Apple Sweet Potatoes right before getting sprinkled with mini-marshmallows and baked for another 5 minutes.

Here is the finished product. Simply fabulous!

I loved this meal. I loved the Christmasy flavors and that apricot glaze. I will probably add apples to sweet potatoes during the holidays and serve them without every other time. It's amazing how one ingredient can influence the feel of the dish so much. I have a lot of leftover sweet potatoes so I am looking forward to lunch!
Rating:
Taste: 10. I wouldn't change a thing on either of these recipes. I only wish I had served the chicken in slices rather than one hunk of meat.
Simplicity: 8. I give it an 8 because it required a lot of dishes to make! Otherwise, it was a smooth evening in the kitchen. While the chickens marinated, I worked on the potatoes, and when the potatoes had 30 minutes left in the oven, I started cooking the chicken. They were both finished at the same time! But like I mentioned, clean-up wasn't as simple.
Overall: I am very impressed with this dish. It came out a lot better than I expected. The sweetness of the apple sweet potatoes complimented the tart of the apricot chicken. It would be an easy meal for the school week because of how easy they are to cook together. You can literally tend to one while the other takes care of itself. You'll never cook two things at once. Five stars for this meal!

P.S. I got the job I mentioned in my Day 1 post! Whoo hoo!