I have found a winner of a chicken dinner. It’s not low-fat, but it’s made with fresh ingredients, and a little fat now and then isn’t a bad thing. I bought a whole chicken and cut it up into 8 pieces – two breasts, two wings, two thighs and two drumsticks. I saved the rest of the chicken in a freezer bag. When I get enough miscellaneous parts saved, I like to make chicken stock. You can also purchase bone-in, skin-on chicken pieces for this dish.

In a bowl large enough to hold all the chicken pieces, I mixed 2 tablespoons smoked paprika, 1 tablespoon chili powder, 1 teaspoons kosher salt, about 1/4 teaspoon black pepper and 1 tablespoon olive oil. With clean hands, add the chicken pieces and toss around, rubbing until the mixture coats every piece of chicken.

Wash hands well and set the oven to 375 degrees. Let the chicken sit in the bowl on the counter while you prepare the potatoes, onions and garlic.

I was lucky enough to trade some of my zucchini and cucumber abundance to a neighbor for their beautiful freshly harvested new potatoes. I washed 2-3 lbs. of the potatoes and sliced them thinly – between 1/8 – 1/4 inch slices. Then I chopped an onion and minced three garlic cloves.

This next part is very important for a successful dish. You’ll need a sheet pan with sides and a rack – a cooling rack or the rack from a roaster will work. Cover the sheet pan with foil and lightly grease with cooking spray. Arrange the potatoes, onions and garlic in an even layer on the pan and sprinkle with 1 teaspoon salt. Lay chicken pieces skin-side up on the rack and set the rack over the potatoes and onions on the sheet pan.

Bake until the skin is crispy and the potatoes are tender, about 55 to 60 minutes. For more crispy potatoes, remove the rack with the chicken and continue baking the potatoes for another 10 minutes.

The moisture from the potatoes and onions keeps the chicken from drying out and the chicken drippings flavor the potatoes and onions below. I served this dish with a baked zucchini gratin and a side salad.

Zucchini Gratin

This next recipe is great for using those larger zucchini. I had two large ones – over 10 inches – and three regular sized – about six inches. I washed them, sliced each in half and cut across into half-moon slices about 1/4 inch thick. I chopped one large onion, minced three garlic cloves and two garden tomatoes.

Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil and 1 tablespoon butter in a pan and sauté all the vegetables until they are just tender. Lightly salt and pepper the vegetables, add a teaspoon of dried thyme and 3 tablespoons of flour. Stir until the flour is incorporated. Remove from heat.

Spray a casserole dish with cooking spray and add the vegetable mixture. In a small bowl, mix together 2 eggs, 1 tablespoon brown sugar and 1/2 cup milk. Pour over the vegetables and top the casserole with a cup of grated cheese. I used mild cheddar.

I placed the casserole in the oven and baked it along with the chicken and potatoes for the last 30 minutes.