cooking light's roasted chicken with dried plums and shallots

2 t. olive oil
4 bone-in chicken breast halves (2 lbs.)
¾ t. salt, divided
½ t. black pepper, divided
8 garlic cloves, peeled
4 large shallots, peeled and halved (8 oz.)
2 thyme sprigs (I used dried
1 large fennel bulb, cut into 8 wedges
16 pitted dried plums (prunes)
¾ cup fat-free less-sodium chicken broth, divided (I used – gasp! – bouillon)
¼ cup dry white wine
1 T. all-purpose flour
2 t. chopped fresh thyme

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Drizzle oil in a small roasting pan or the bottom of a broiler pan. Place pan in oven 5 minutes or until hot. Sprinkle chicken with ¼ t. salt and ¼ t. pepper. Place chicken, skin side down, in pan. Arrange garlic, shallots, thyme sprigs, and fennel around chicken. Season veggies with salt and pepper. Bake 20 minutes. Remove pan from oven. Turn chicken over and stir vegetables. Add plums. Bake 15 minutes or until chicken is done. Remove chicken and vegetables from pan. Discard skin. Loosely cover chicken and veggies to keep warm.

Place pan over medium-high heat. Add ½ cup broth and wine, stirring to loosen browned bits. Combine flour and ¼ cup broth, stirring with a whisk until smooth. Add flour mixture to pan, stir until well-blended. Bring to a boil, cook for 1 minute or until slightly thick. Stir in chopped thyme, remaining ¼ t. salt, and remaining pepper. Serve sauce with chicken and veggies.

i served this with whole-wheat couscous and cl’s brussels sprouts with garlic and honey. (which i tried to sell to our hero as mini-cabbages, but he saw right through me. he ended up surprising himself and liking them!)

CL’s Brussels Sprouts with Garlic and Honey

1 T. butter
1 lb. Brussels sprouts, quartered and trimmed
¼ t. salt
¼ t. pepper
3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1 T. honey

Melt butter in skillet over medium-high heat. Add Brussels sprouts, salt, and pepper. Sauté 3 minutes. Add garlic, sauté 2 minutes or until lightly browned. Add 3 T. of water, cover and cook 3 minutes or until Brussels sprouts are tender. Drizzle with honey, toss well to coat.