Parmesan Pesto Chicken & Veggies (Sheet Pan)

STORY:
In my journey towards better health and away from my (beloved) bad habits, I keep looking for easy and healthy family dinners.  Enter the new popular Sheet Pan Dinners.  I've only tried a couple different versions, but I've made this one twice and I'm making it again tomorrow.  My kids all love it.  Even the picky 7 year old boy.  The 15 year old boy says it's one of his favorite dinners. So yay!

I found an amazing food blog that every single picture looks like something I want to try! Like seriously incredible. I'm not sure I'm ever going to need to go to a different website for meal ideas.  It's called Carlsbad Cravings and that's where I came across this tasty dish that I'm adding to my little family blog tonight.  Here is the link to the recipe on their site.  I'm just adding it here for easy reference because, like I said, delicious and easy... and I almost always have every ingredient on hand.

Besides, my oldest child is almost a senior in high school (!) which means she may be living on her own soon which means she might want access to recipes that she already knows and loves which means I need to make sure I am adding more here for her easy reference...

INGREDIENTS:
Chicken & Veggies
2 C red potatoes, cut up no bigger than 1/2" to 1" pieces
1 1/2 lbs chicken, cut into 1 1/2" chunks; breasts or thighs
3 C broccoli, medium sized florets
1 C thinly sliced carrots
1/2 C Parmesan cheese, freshly grated

Pesto Mix/Sauce:
1/3 C basil pesto (I always keep a jar of the Costco jar in my fridge... it's good on a dozen things!)
1 T olive oil
2 t ranch dry seasoning mix
3-4 minced garlic cloves (Some people may not like it as much as fresh, but for convenience, I always have a big bottle of minced garlic in my fridge)
2 t dijon mustard
1/2 t chili powder
1/2 t salt
1/4 t pepper

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Whisk together all the pesto mix ingredients in a large bowl.
Line a large jelly roll pan/oversized cookie sheet (10x15) with aluminum foil and spray with cooking spray.
Put 2 tablespoons of the pesto mix and the potatoes in a bowl.  Toss to evenly coat.  Spread in a single layer on the baking sheet and roast for 15-20 minutes.
Meanwhile, chop up the chicken, broccoli, and carrots.  Toss them in the bowl with the remaining pesto mix and really get in there and coat everything really well.
Remove the baking sheet with the potatoes from the oven and scoot all the potatoes to one side, while keeping in a single layer.  Then spread the chopped and coated chicken and veggies on the pan, again, in a single layer.
Return to the oven for 15 minutes.
Remove again and sprinkle on the Parmesan cheese.
Return to the oven for 5 more minutes, checking for doneness.

While it's good to go just like this, Ben usually likes some sort of a grain with it.  So with this kind of meal, I'd usually just do up some rice or quinoa to go with it.

Roasted Green Beans

Story:
You know it's bad when your teenagers say they don't think we are eating enough vegetables.  Oops.  I go through stages with a lot of my cooking, and apparently, veggies have taken a back seat to convenience lately.  I was humbled enough to know they spoke truth and I am now trying to feed my family (including myself) more veggies!  I tend to be a fan of fresh veggies.  Never canned, occasionally frozen.  But sometimes I feel stumped on what to do besides steaming broccoli again, ya feel?  So I've been perusing the internet and the bottomless pit of ideas called Pinterest for new ideas on preparing vegetables.  I know I can pin the good ones (and I do), but I hate all the ads... so I'm back here on the blog to post some of my favorite finds in order to remember and access the real "keepers" in one safe place.

So that is why I am bringing to you today this recipe for Roasted Green Beans.  YUM!  The first time I made them, Ethan (now 15), went over to the leftovers on the pan and asked, as he was picking them up and eating them right there over the counter, "Why are these so good??"  Yes, green beans.  I found the recipe here.  I didn't do much to tweak it or anything.  It's good just as it is.

I've served them with a tangy pork roast. I've served them with chicken.  Tonight I'll be doing up a batch to go with leftover Easter ham.  They are always good!  Enjoy!

Ingredients:
2 pounds fresh green beans
1-2 T olive oil (enough to lightly coat the beans)
1 or 1 1/2  t kosher salt
1/2 t fresh ground pepper (8-10 turns of the grinder)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400º.
I like to put down parchment paper on my roasting pan (large cookie sheet).
Wash the beans, trim, and pat dry.
Drizzle with the olive oil and sprinkle with the salt and pepper.
Get in there with your hands and make sure the beans are all coated nicely.
Spread in a single layer on the roasting pan.
Roast for about 15 minutes, and turn.
Roast for another 10, to your desired doneness.
They should be a little bit shriveled and have some brown spots.

That's it!  I hope you like them as much as Ethan did.

Note:
I saw that some people liked to cook them a little less.
I saw that some people like them with a squeeze of lemon.
I saw that some people like them with parmesan cheese.
All of these options sound great!