Don’t be a chicken…try this chicken!
Looking for an easy meal for the family that’s healthy and delicious? Look no further than a simple roasted chicken. Roasted chicken is so delicious and easy and it will make your house smell fantastic! There are many many ways to roast a chicken, but for today I will show you the SIMPLEST way to roast a chicken and have it ready to eat in less than 2 hours. That’s shorter cook time than a pot roast and it’s a little more appropriate to eat in the summer.
Start off by buying a nice 3 lb chicken. I bought mine at Woodmans, but you can get one at Sam’s club or your local grocery store. Some people prefer natural or organic or grassed. I try to get mine as close to nature as possible because I try to use every bit of the chicken- the meat for a dish, the bones for chicken stock, the chicken stock for a homemade soup, you catch my drift. You want a nice quality chicken.
Once you have the chicken, rinse it well and pat dry with a paper towel. Preheat your oven to 500 degrees. Yes I know that sounds high, but it will brown your chicken nicely and you will not cook it that hot for the entire roast.
Next, chop up all your onion, celery, and carrots and place them in a 9 x 13 baking casserole dish. Put a hefty amount of olive oil on there, about 2 T, sprinkle a little salt (I use kosher) and fresh peppercorn on top. Mix it all up so all the vegetables are covered with the goodness.
Take your chicken breast side up, and place it on top of the vegetables. No need for a rack because the vegetables will help raise the chicken slightly and all the juices from the chicken will drip down onto the lovely veggies. Put it all in the oven and roast for 20 minutes or until the chicken begins to brown.
While the chicken roasts, get a small bowl and mix together 2 T of olive oil, 1 T salt, and pepper to taste. Go to your garden or refrigerator and pull out some fresh herbs that you might have on hand. I like Rosemary, oregano and basil. Feel free to get funky with your herbs! Don’t be afraid to try different combinations. They add so much flavor to your chicken. I especially love Rosemary on chicken. Here’s what my olive oil mixture looked like.
When the chicken is brown, open up the oven and pour the olive oil mixture all over the chicken… Make sure you don’t miss a spot. Reduce your oven to 275 degrees and bake for another 60 minutes or until the chicken is done and juices run clear. * Don’t forget to let the chicken rest after taking it out of the oven! Cover it with tin foil and place a towel on top of that and do not peak for 10 minutes. This is going to ensure your chicken is juicy and full of flavor.
Serve your chicken with some beautiful asparagus and whole grain couscous and VOILA! You’ve got a healthy meal that cost less than $12 and only took aroun 2 hours from start to finish. Now that’s hard to beat!
- 1 whole 3 lb chicken, giblets removed
- 1 onion chopped
- 3 stalks celery, chopped
- 5 carrots, chopped
- 2 T olive oil
- 1 T salt
- Pepper to taste
- Fresh herbs, chopped, about 1 T or so
- Preheat your Oven to 500 degrees
- Start off by placing all your chopped onion celery and carrots in a small baking dish. (9 x 13 is fine)
- If you want to, you can add some olive oil, salt and pepper on top of vegetables, but it isn't necessary
- Rinse your chicken and pat dry with paper towels, place on top of the vegetables
- Put it all in the oven and roast for 20 minutes or until the chicken starts to brown.
- While the chicken roasts, mix together your olive oil, salt and pepper and chopped herbs.
- Pour olive oil mixture on top of chicken after the 20 minutes and cover the chicken with it completely.
- Reduce your oven temp to 275 degrees and bake for 60 minutes or until chicken is done.
- Allow chicken to rest for 10 minutes after taking it out of the oven. To do this simply place aluminum foil on top and a towel on top of that and allow the juices to really sit. This will help it stay moist and delicious
Next time I will show you how to make homemade chicken stock from your leftover bones and skin! It is so simple and easy and again will have your kitchen smelling amazing.
BTW, my 7 year old is a super picky eater and she had seconds of this stuff. If you have a picky eater in your family, serve the chicken with a little bit of honey. It’s natural and yummy and less calories than ranch.
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