Maple Spiced Chicken with Sweet Potatoes

It's been 9 weeks and 2 days since November 20th. I've written pages and pages since then. I haven't posted any of them. Maybe one day I will share this journey with the world but for now it's just me. I no longer burst into tears without warning, the nightmares have ceased - mostly - and I've been cooking up a storm. It's a great January day for comfort food and so I created this. (I made some notes at the end if you're interested in the finer details.)

























4 medium sweet potatoes, peeled, cut into 1” cubes
1 onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely sliced (or 1 tsp garlic powder)
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp cumin
Salt
Cracked pepper

1/2 cup flour 
1 tsp cumin
1/2 to 1 tsp salt
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 to 1 tsp chipotle chilli powder
Chicken pieces, bone in, skin removed

1/3 cup maple syrup
Cracked pepper
1/3 cup Parmesan cheese
1 tsp dried thyme leaves (or a handful of fresh)
1/3 cup chopped pecans

1. Arrange sweet potatoes, onion and garlic in a baking pan lined with parchment paper. 
2. Sprinkle brown sugar, cumin, salt and pepper.
3. Mix together flour, cumin, salt, onion powder, garlic powder and chipotle chilli powder.
4. Dredge chicken in seasoned flour and arrange over potatoes.
5. Bake uncovered at 350 F (180º C) for 2 hours, or until chicken and sweet potatoes are cooked.
6. In the last 30 minutes of baking time, baste chicken with maple syrup 3 times (every 10 minutes). In the last 10 minutes of cooking time, sprinkle cracked pepper, Parmesan cheese, thyme leaves and pecans.

Notes:

• I measured absolutely nothing. All the measurements above are an estimate of what I think I might have used. (I know I say this every time!)
• Chipotle chilli powder tastes nothing like your regular chilli powder so don't think about substituting because the flavours are not similar. This one's my new favourite discovery. It's got some heat, because as you all know, I like to live on the fiery side of things. Surprisingly enough, I didn't find the end result spicy. Next time, I'll probably increase this spice and add some cayenne pepper.
• Cumin - crazy expensive in the spice aisle; super cheap in the ethnic food aisle at Superstore. $7-8 dollars for a tiny spice bottle (40 grams); less than $4 for 350 grams. 
• Don't use boneless chicken because it will cook long before the potatoes and dry out. If you must use boneless chicken, boil the potatoes for 10 to 15 minutes before putting them in the pan.
• Coating the chicken with flour gives it a crispier finish, since the skin is removed. If you have declared war on all things flour-based, just sprinkle the chicken with the spices (the amounts used might be less??).
• Parmesan cheese. I buy a wedge of real Parmesan cheese at the deli, grate it up in a food processor or Magic Bullet and keep it in the freezer. I don't like the taste of the stuff that sits on the shelf. This is much nicer.
• I didn't use pecans when I made this recipe but I will try it next time.
• Aunt Jemima never laid eyes on a maple tree. Enough said.