Chicken, Potato, and Green Bean One-Dish Dinner

I hope you'll all forgive me for being MIA the last week or so. I've been busy getting things ready for Christmas (I'm hosting two Christmases at my home this year, which has required a lot of planning), baking up a storm, and hugging my little boys even more tightly than usual. Like everyone else's, my heart was just broken by the events that transpired in Newtown, Connecticut last week. I'm sending up so many prayers for the families affected and for the entire town, that they may find healing and peace in the wake of such senseless tragedy.

My Google Reader is overwhelmed with holiday recipes right now, most of them on the sweet end of the spectrum. I made some fantastic new cookies for my cookie trays this year, but I've opted to save them to share with you next Christmas. I don't want to overwhelm you with even more cookies a week before Christmas, when I'm sure most of you already have all of your holiday baking finished! Instead, I thought I'd share with you what we're having for dinner tonight.

I've been bad about blogging this month, but I've been even worse about cooking dinner. Last night I made sloppy joes, but that was the first time I'd cooked anything at all since the first week of December. My family is in serious need of some comfort food, and this recipe is perfect for that. It's also perfect for this time of year, because it doesn't dirty a lot of dishes, can be made ahead of time, and is very low-maintenance overall. Oh, and also? It's delicious. The chicken is so moist and tender, and the potatoes are so flavorful. My family was especially fond of the green beans. I think this would also work well with carrots, broccoli, cauliflower or even corn instead of green beans -- but I personally won't be trying it, since my guys just went nuts over the green beans!

This is probably the last time you'll hear from me before Christmas. I hope you all have a very Merry Christmas with the ones you love!

Chicken, Potato, and Green Bean One-Dish Dinner

adapted from Julie's Eats and Treats

8 baby red potatoes, chopped

2 cans green beans, drained

4 chicken breasts, uniform thickness

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup chicken stock

1 packet dry Italian dressing mix

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

2. Line the potatoes along one side of a 13 x 9 baking dish. Line the other side of the dish with the green beans, and nestle the chicken breasts in the middle.

3. Slice the butter thinly and spread over the top of the chicken and vegetables. Pour chicken stock evenly over the pan, and sprinkle the entire pan with the Italian dressing mix.

4. Cover the dish tightly with aluminum foil and bake for 1 hour, or until the chicken breasts are cooked through and the potatoes are fork-tender.