So, it’s still midweek and I wanted to mix things up a bit and try something new… but I wanted it to be quick and easy. I decided to use my BBQ sauce (from a previous blog post) as a glaze and then made up a quinoa salad that I thought would work alongside it – et voila! My husband was a bit surprised to come home to such a delicious looking meal that was totally new. We were pleasantly surprised with how yummy it was and this will definitely become one of our regular go-to meals.

This Quantity serves 4 people

Ingredients:

• Chicken legs (8-10)
• BBQ sauce (‘Dark Sauce’ from my blog)
• Sweet potato (I used 4)
• 1 cup of quinoa
• 1/2 red capsicum
• Several handfuls of baby spinach
• 1-2 green apples (I used 1)
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
• Salt and pepper (I use Himalayan Salt)
• Spray oil

Method:

1. Pre-heat oven to 180 degrees Celsius
2. Spray a casserole dish with oil (I used rice-bran oil)
3. Place the chicken legs in the dish and then coat them in the BBQ sauce
4. Peel and roughly chop the sweet potato into 2cm cubes
5. Arrange the sweet potato around the chicken legs. Spray them with the spray oil and give them a dusting of salt and pepper
6. Bake in the oven for 45min-1 hour
7. Meanwhile, assemble the salad and dressing so when the meat and sweet potatoes are cooked it can be dished up.
8. For the dressing: add the olive oil, apple cider vinegar and salt and pepper to a jar and shake well. This will make more dressing than you will need. You could halve the amount if you wanted to; I like to make up a jar of it so I can keep it in the fridge for my next salads during the week.
9. For the salad: cover the base of a salad bowl in baby spinach leaves. Add the red capsicum (I sliced them length ways, then halved them). I cooked the quinoa next (I used the absorption method on the stove top and just followed the instructions on the packet). I chopped the apple just before serving and then added the quinoa and roasted sweet potatoes. Give it all a toss together and either drizzle over the salad dressing or allow people to add their own dressing.
10. Serve the chicken legs and salad together for a light but filling meal.

If you give this recipe a try please let me know how it turns out. I’m happy to troubleshoot or discuss how you could substitute these ingredients if some of the ones I’ve used aren’t suitable for your family’s sensitivities.