Sheet Pan Lemon Pepper Chicken and Vegetables

Last week of school. The children are feral — there is no other word for it. They are done with sitting and done with listening and done with everything except running and yelling and counting down the minutes. I understand. I was like that once, back at Sol C. Johnson High, counting the seconds until summer, except my summers weren't about freedom. My summers were about working. Shrimp plant, babysitting, whatever I could find. But I never minded, because Mama was the same way — she worked all summer cleaning houses while we were out of school, and she never once complained where we could hear it.

I made the last lunches of the year on Thursday. Fried chicken, mashed potatoes, green beans, rolls, and chocolate cake. The good stuff. The kids knew it was the last day of school lunch and some of them — the ones who need it, the ones I worry about — had a look on their face that made my heart crack right down the middle. The little quiet girl came through the line and I put an extra piece of chicken on her tray and a bag of fruit in her backpack — apples, bananas, and some oranges. She looked at me. I looked at her. I said, "You come to the community center this summer, you hear me? Tuesdays and Thursdays." She nodded. I hope she comes.

Saturday was my sister Ruthie Mae's birthday. She turned sixty-eight — my baby sister, sixty-eight, which makes no sense because in my mind she is still fourteen and borrowing my clothes without asking. She lives in Augusta now, two hours away, so I don't see her as often as I'd like. We talked on the phone for an hour. We talked about Mama and Daddy. We talked about James Jr. and how the house feels different without him. We talked about Willie James, which we almost never do, because that wound is fifty-one years old and it still bleeds if you touch it wrong. We talked about our other siblings — Bernice in Macon and Clarence in Columbia. Four of us left out of six. That math gets harder every year.

I made red rice this week. Red rice is a Gullah thing — it's rice cooked with tomatoes and onion and sometimes sausage or bacon, and it turns this beautiful red-orange color that looks like a Savannah sunset. Hattie Pearl made it every Saturday, and I've carried that tradition forward like a torch. I used smoked sausage this time — Conecuh sausage, which is an Alabama sausage that has no business being as good as it is — and fresh tomatoes from Earl's garden that are just starting to come in. The first tomatoes of the season are always the best because you've been waiting for them.

Earl ate two bowls and said, "Your mama would approve." I said, "My mama would say I used too much sausage." He said, "There's no such thing as too much sausage." Medical science disagrees with him, but I didn't argue because he was smiling and smiling is good for his heart, and that is a kind of medicine too.

Now go on and feed somebody.

Red rice takes patience and attention, and some nights — after a week of last-day-of-school chaos and a long Saturday phone call that leaves your heart tender in all the old places — you need something that lets you put it in the oven and just breathe for a minute. This sheet pan lemon pepper chicken is that kind of recipe. It’s bright and savory and the vegetables roast up soft around the edges the way Earl likes, and when it comes out of the oven the whole house smells like somebody cared enough to cook. Which they did. Which you always do.

Prep Time: 15 minutes | Cook Time: 40 minutes | Total Time: 55 minutes | Servings: 4

Ingredients

4 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs (about 2 lbs total)
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 1/2 teaspoons lemon pepper seasoning, divided
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
1 medium zucchini, sliced into 1/2-inch half-moons
1 cup cherry tomatoes
1 medium red bell pepper, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 medium yellow squash, sliced into 1/2-inch half-moons
1 small red onion, cut into wedges
1 lemon, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped (for serving)

Instructions

Preheat and prep. Preheat your oven to 425°F. Line a large rimmed sheet pan with foil and set aside.
Season the chicken. Pat chicken thighs dry with paper towels. In a small bowl, combine 1 teaspoon lemon pepper seasoning, garlic powder, onion powder, and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Rub chicken all over with 1 tablespoon olive oil, then coat evenly with the spice mixture. Place skin-side up on one half of the sheet pan.
Prep the vegetables. In a large bowl, toss the zucchini, cherry tomatoes, bell pepper, yellow squash, and red onion with the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil, 1/2 teaspoon lemon pepper seasoning, and 1/4 teaspoon salt until evenly coated.
Arrange the pan. Spread the seasoned vegetables in a single layer on the other half of the sheet pan. Tuck lemon slices around the chicken and vegetables.
Roast. Transfer to the oven and roast for 35 to 40 minutes, until the chicken skin is golden and crisp, the internal temperature of the chicken reads 165°F on an instant-read thermometer, and the vegetables are tender with lightly caramelized edges.
Rest and serve. Let the chicken rest for 5 minutes before serving. Scatter fresh parsley over the top and serve directly from the pan.

Nutrition (per serving)

Sheet Pan Lemon Pepper Chicken and Vegetables — When the Week Asks You to Keep It Simple and Good