How to make Roasted Chicken

Hey guys!  With the newer, cold weather, I’ve been doing a lot of cooking and baking lately.  First, because I’ve missed wintery food during this long, HOT summer, and second, because turning on the oven makes the apartment warm!  (No judgment)  One thing about me, I am a SUCKER for being warm.  During the winter, you’ll typically find me in a battle of wills with myself:  One the one hand, I try to save money by keeping the heat at a reasonable temperature.  This also involves turning the heat down at night and when the husband and I are out of the apartment.  However, on the other hand, I really, really HATE being cold.  So much so, that I will spend much of my time under some sort of blanket or comforter.  So having a nice, warm meal really hits the spot on a cold, winter night. 

One thing that I really attempt to do in my house is make things that have the ability to be repurposed or extended in some way.  Earlier last week I decided to finally roast this chicken that had been in my freezer for a few months.   UNFORTUNATELY, (so sorry!) I did not get a picture of the finished product.  BUT, lucky for you, dear reader, I was able to make many meals from the first meal.  So this topic will be kind of a series of sorts.

Let’s start with the roasted chicken:

Guess what guys?  Whole chickens are insanely cheap at the grocery store.  You know why?  Because people don’t normally like to deal with entire chickens!  That’s why your boneless, skinless chicken breasts are $4.50/lb, because of the processing it takes to get it into that form.  So, with a little courage, and the ability to channel your inner chef, you can attempt to roast an entire chicken.  Another bonus?  It literally takes like 10 minutes to prepare this meal.  PLUS!  It’s not like you’re roasting a 20lb Turkey for Thanksgiving, so the degree of difficulty is much lower.

Gather your ingredients:

Roasted Chicken with Vegetables:

1 Whole Chicken

1 Tbsp butter

Salt & Pepper

Assorted vegetables like potatoes, sweet potatoes, carrots, & onion

Olive Oil

Spices:  Garlic Powder, Onion Powder, Oregano

Begin by removing the chicken from its packaging.  You might want to do this over the sink, as it will be juicy.  Take the package of giblets out of the package.  You can either throw these out, cook and eat them (ew?), or save them in the fridge for the next stage of this process (psst: Chicken Stock).

Rinse the chicken inside and out with water.  Place chicken in a baking pan with the breast side up.  Soften your butter a little bit in the microwave for a few seconds if it’s cold.  Take that butter in your hand and smear it allllllll over the chicken.  This is gonna make it tasty!  Lightly salt & pepper the chicken to your liking.  If you want, sprinkle some oregano on the chicken or any other spices you choose.

In a bowl, combine the vegetables, which have been cut up into cubes.  Sprinkle the vegetables with about 1-2 Tbsp olive oil.  Add some salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder and oregano.  I don’t normally measure, but I’d say at least ½ tsp of each.  Stir it until the oil and seasonings coat the vegetables evenly.  Add the vegetables to the same baking dish as the chicken, making sure they are evenly distributed around the chicken.

Insert a meat thermometer into the leg of the chicken, making sure it is not touching the bone.  Place the entire dish in a 375°F oven.  Depending on the size of the chicken, the baking times may vary:

•          2.5 to 3lbs  :   1 to 1 ¼ hours
•          3 to 3.5lbs  :  1 ¼ to 1 ½ hours
•          3.5 to 4lbs  :  1 ½ to 1 ¾ hours
•          4.5 to 5lbs  :  1 ½ to 2 hours

I normally bake my chicken until the thermometer reads 180°F, as that is the safe cooking temperature for chicken.  When finished, take the chicken out of the oven.  Slice the breast, or pull off legs for an easy dinner!

Now, when you’re finished with dinner, don’t throw away the rest of the chicken quite yet.  Tomorrow, we are going to make chicken stock with the rest of the chicken.  Good luck!