Baked Chicken w/ Roasted Apples, Raisins & Walnuts

Apple Fact: Wow, did you know that there are about seventy-five hundred varieties of apples grown around the world? Well, it's true and about 2,500 hundred of them grow right here in the U.S! The chances are you won't run across that many of them throughout your day but I thought it was a pretty interesting fact! Do keep your eye out for those rare beauties though, they all have a little bit different flavor and could keep you coming back for more and we all know what they say, 'an apple a day…'

Ingredients:

5 cups Braeburn apple or any baking apple, unpeeled & chopped into medium chunks
½ cup raisins
¼ cup chopped walnuts (optional)
1 teaspoon fresh sage, chopped
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 garlic cloves, chopped
½ teaspoon salt, divided
Cooking spray
2 lbs. chicken thighs, skinned
¼ teaspoon black pepper
1 Tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, combine first 8 ingredients, toss well to coat apples. Spread apple mixture evenly on the bottom of an 8 x 10 inch baking dish coated w/ nonstick cooking spray.

2. Sprinkle chicken with salt & pepper, and then arrange chicken on top of apple mixture.

3. Bake at 475 degrees for 25-30 minutes, or until chicken is done and apples are tender. Place chicken on a bed of apples, sprinkle with parsley, and serve w/ your favorite harvest vegetable.

Apple Selection: Good-quality Braeburn apples will be firm with smooth, clean skin and have good color for the variety. Test the firmness of the apple by holding it in the palm of your hand. (Do not push with your thumb). A good apple should feel solid and heavy, not soft and light. Always avoid any apples with soft or dark spots. If the skin wrinkles when you rub your thumb across it then the apple has probably been in cold storage way too long or has not been kept cool enough.