Friday Favorites: Perfect Roast Chicken

 

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Look what I made!  I know, you’re probably thinking “O.K. it’s a chicken.  What’s the big deal?”  Well I have somehow managed to get to be 3# years old and have never cooked a whole chicken or turkey.  When it was just me and the hubby, I would just buy a pre-cooked rotisserie chicken at the market.  Now that we are a family of six those just don’t cut it.  Next I tried those whole Perdue chickens.  Ya know the ones that are pre-seasoned in the bag.  You don’t even have to actually touch the chicken.  Just cut a slit in the bag and pop it in the oven.  Now they are actually pretty good and are big enough to feed our family.  However, it is much more economical to make one from scratch so I finally took the plunge.

Now I wish that I had a camera rolling because we could have won some serious money on America’s Funniest Home Videos.  The first step in the recipe very simply states to remove the giblets.  No problem right?  Not unless you are a total spazz like me!  I kept reaching my hand into the chicken and then pulling it out at the last minute and squealing.  My little girls kept cheering me on.  “You can do it mommy!”  I finally reached in and pulled it out.  Oh, it’s in a bag!  Duh!  :)

Anyway, once we got past the giblet trauma, it was a really simple recipe.  The end result was soooo delicious and my kitchen smelled awesome!

Here is the recipe  or you can click HERE for the link.

Perfect Roast Chicken: Ina Garten

Ingredients

• 1 (5 to 6 pound) roasting chicken
• Kosher salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1 large bunch fresh thyme, plus 20 sprigs
• 1 lemon, halved
• 1 head garlic, cut in half crosswise
• 2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter, melted
• 1 large yellow onion, thickly sliced
• 4 carrots cut into 2-inch chunks
• 1 bulb of fennel, tops removed, and cut into wedges
• Olive oil

Directions

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

Remove the chicken giblets. Rinse the chicken inside and out. Remove any excess fat and leftover pin feathers and pat the outside dry. Liberally salt and pepper the inside of the chicken. Stuff the cavity with the bunch of thyme, both halves of lemon, and all the garlic. Brush the outside of the chicken with the butter and sprinkle again with salt and pepper. Tie the legs together with kitchen string and tuck the wing tips under the body of the chicken. Place the onions, carrots, and fennel in a roasting pan. Toss with salt, pepper, 20 sprigs of thyme, and olive oil. Spread around the bottom of the roasting pan and place the chicken on top.

Roast the chicken for 1 1/2 hours, or until the juices run clear when you cut between a leg and thigh. Remove the chicken and vegetables to a platter and cover with aluminum foil for about 20 minutes. Slice the chicken onto a platter and serve it with the vegetables.

 

That’s it!  Serve up your yummy dinner!

 

 

 

 

Take in all of the happy faces of your cute little family members enjoying their chicken dinner!

 

We’ll except for maybe your husband who’s thinking, “Really, now we’re taking blog pictures at the dinner table?”  Sorry honey!

 

Enjoy!

Don’t forget to enter the Tooth Fairy Pillow giveaway!  Click HERE to enter.  Giveaway closes May 14.