Tasty Tues~Roasted Chicken

Look at that delicious bird!  You have got to try this chicken recipe.  It is always a winner at our house.  I think they really like it because this is a chicken that we raised too!  I am not one who ate it, but there wasn’t much left from the other 5 after dinner.  I think that says something.  This is super easy to make too.  First you need to preheat your oven to 450 degrees.    Then you need to take your chicken and rinse it off (don’t forget to to get the gizzard, neck and what every else is in the center).  When I had these hens processed I asked her to keep that stuff.  I don’t use it for anything at all!
    After you have washed and dried your chicken place it in the roasting pan that you will be cooking it in.  Drizzle olive oil on it and rub it in.  Don’t forget about the legs!  Then you want to take 2 lemons and quarter them.  Then stuff them inside the bird.  The parsley comes next.  You just want to fill that cavity with the parsley.  Depending on the size of your lemons you may want to stuff a lemon then some parsley then a lemon (you get the idea).  You just want to make sure your cavity is stuffed.  I then took a sprig or two and stuffed them down the neck area.  Now, I have used fresh and dried before.  I think the fresh is better, but in a pinch the dried also does the trick.

Finally, you want to salt and pepper that bird.  The olive oil that you previous rubbed in will allow that salt and pepper to stick to the outside and really season it.  I use more pepper than salt just because that is the way we like it.  I have also used Paula Dean’s House seasoning on it as well as other seasonings.  You can really change it several times before you make the same roasted chicken again.  Lemon and Rosemary are also good together as well as garlic and thyme.  Just to let you know.  We have raised and had process (or slaughtered) 19 chickens so we have roasted chicken a lot in the colder weather.  I am finished with the processing part as we mainly eat chicken breast. 
Now you need to cook it.  Pop that bird into your preheated oven and cook it for about 15 minutes.  It is fine if you forget and it is 20 just don’t leave it at that temp for the entire time.  Yep I did that one time.  The bird was very dry and very pretty.  At least it wasn’t burnt, as my kiddos said .  After the first cook is finished drop that temp to about 375 degrees and cook for about an hour.  Once your second cook time is complete take that roasting pan out of the oven and set aside.  Don’t open it yet!  Let him rest for about 20 minutes.  Go ahead and make your sides now and it will be ready when you are finished with those.  Great timing right?  Serve with your favorite sides.  If your family doesn’t consume the whole chicken in one meal just debone it and pop in the fridge.  You can make chicken pot pie, chicken noodle soup or another chicken recipe later in the week.

Enjoy!