Recipe- Fruit Glazed Chicken with Mashed (Not a) Turnip and Potatoes

Ok. I will admit it. I've never eaten a turnip before (well, at least to my knowlege). That's got to be weird, right? How does one go thirty years with never having eaten a turnip? So I bought one. And then I was stumped. Just how does one eat a turnip? Well, apparently you can mash it. And if you mash it with potatoes it's very good. Not sure my kids were impressed but I thought it was rather tasty.

ETA- Well, come to find out folks what I made was a PARSNIP. And not a turnip. I'm still a turnip virgin. ROFL.

And yes this is a picture of my dinner. And yes I did already take a bite. I was really hungry. When I'm really hungry I tend to either be incredibly snarky or I forget to take pictures. I would guess that I was somewhere inbetween those two last night. Oh, and taking dinner shots in the Pac NW and having them look good is... nigh on impossible. But I digress. Here's how I made my dinner last night. It was super easy.

You need potatoes and a turnip...

I'm nearing the end of my food supply so it's regular old bakers. Peel, cube and throw into a pot. Cover with some COLD water and boil until tender. Here's an action shot...

At the same time as all this is going on you need to get your chicken in the oven. Start by lining your broiling pan with foil and preheating your oven to 350 degrees. Then you need to make a rub. I used 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper.

Stir it up and rub on your chicken... I used one whole chicken cut into pieces. But this would work for chicken breasts as well.

Put your chicken in the oven and bake for 25 or so minutes until done through. Melt in a saucepan over medium low heat about 1/4 cup of your favorite jam. I prefer blackberry but you know... the plum might have been good as well. (All our jam is 100% local grown and homemade!) I was going to take a shot of this but blackberry jam in a black saucepan... it didn't work.

Glaze your chicken using a brush... mmmm looking good already!

Now the fun part... back in the oven it goes! This time about 4" under the broiler and for about 5 minutes. While that's cooking you can mash your potatoes and turnip.

I mashed mine with about 1 tbsp of brown sugar, 1/2 stick of vegan butter and 1/4 cup of Almond milk. If your not on a gluten/dairy free diet feel free to substitute with the real stuff. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Remove the chicken from the oven and let rest for about five minutes. You should always let your meat rest before cutting it. Serve with your mashed potatoes and turnip and a side of beans.

I will not lie... my kids... eh... well... hmmm...

BUT I LIKED IT!