American BBQ with a Twist

I love putting twists on traditional meals, it keeps food interesting and I love playing around with different flavorings...the inspiration behind this meal was an All-American BBQ - complete with chicken, mashed potatoes and greens...

BBQ Chicken Thighs with Blue Cheese, Garlic and Thyme Mashed Parsnips and Red Potatoes and Sauteed Spinach with Garlic and Red Onion.

The whole meal is easy to make!  Simply take chicken thighs and slather in BBQ sauce (I used Jack Daniels BBQ Sauce for mine), then bake at 375 degrees until done (about 50 minutes).  While your chicken is baking, cut parsnips and red potatoes into same size chunks and boil in salted water for about 20-30 minutes (or until both are soft).  I mashed mine by hand but if you like them more whipped you can use a mixer.  Add milk, butter, about 1-1/2 to 2 tablespoons blue cheese, a pinch of thyme and 2 sauteed cloves of garlic.  Lastly, saute 2 cloves garlic and equal amount of red onion until soft (I used a white truffle infused olive oil), then add spinach until just wilted.

The timing for this meal works just about right...I always have trouble with the timing and wind up having half the meal done before the other.... but this meal is easy to balance.

My husband went back for seconds on the mashed parsnips and potatoes, he doesn't normally like blue cheese but liked it in this meal :)