Okay I love food, can't live without it, but for the life of me I don't understand why it is so hard for me be ashamed of it. Oh yeah, I remember because if I'm seen eating something besides a salad or vegan/gluten-free/cruelty-free/taste-free (fyi, not saying that all of these foods are taste free) I get the look of death. I'm one of those happy ladies, who just so happens to have a couple....30lbs on my frame that need to be toned/exercised off. It's a work in progress, but believe me with my obsession with what I put in my body has really paid off in the past month or so. I have lost 10lbs., which is an accomplishment for me because it has stayed off. I did do one thing, make a lot of food on the weekends, and then from there we have saved money and calories in the long run. It has now become a habit of mines, when my mother and I go book shopping at Border's I scour over the reduced priced cookbooks. My recent purchase was a dessert cookbook (lol no I'm not sabotaging my "new" life) since I needed to make sure that I had something new to add to my gift baskets this year (recession proof gift). I did see some that tickled my fancy: Sweet Potato Cheesecake, Brownies with espresso (yes for my coffee addicted Aunts and Uncles lol), but that is not why I'm posting.
I'm posting because I did say that I would provide you with recipes, which has not been done except from the help I get from Whole Foods (chuckles). So, one thing I have done was pretty much been giving out advice on what every woman should know how to cook (and yes I mean EVERY woman). One thing is the infamous Oven Roasted Chicken, and nope it's not as hard as it seems. You need:
One whole chicken in between 3-5lbs
3 cloves of garlic (slice one and leave the other two whole)
1/4 of an onion sliced
the skin of one lemon (this is to place in the cavity and under the skin)
Italian Seasoning (this prevents you from buying sep. spices)
Black Pepper
Kosher Salt (a little goes a very long way)
1 1/2 tbls of butter or margarine (this is to massage the skin)
roasting pan (if using disposable use foil to tent the chicken)
1. Preheat the oven at 375
2. Clean the bird by rubbing the juice of the lemon on the inside and outside of the bird (thought I was going to have you waste a lemon????). Make sure to remove the bag of surprises (that's the innards of the bird that some of us love)
3. After you finish giving your bird a thorough washing, dry the skin.
4. Stuff the inside of the bird with the garlic cloves, the sliced onion, and 1/2 of the lemon skin. Make sure that you rub some of the salt on the inside of the cavity, believe me this helps with the seasoning.
5. Under the skin push the sliced garlic cloves and lemon skin as far as possible so the breast will be thorougly seasoned (flavor is good!)
6. Rub the butter on the skin (this helps the seasonings stick the skin), but make sure that you don't mess up your hard work with the garlic and lemon. Add seasonings (Italian seasoning, pepper, and salt).
7. Place in your roaster pan, and tent with some foil (if using the disposable pan)/ cover with lid. Leave in the oven covered for about 45 mintues, and then for another 40 (yes another 40) bake uncovered.
8. Remove from the oven, but do not cut yet. Let it rest for 20 minutes so the juices can redistribute (nobody likes dry chicken).
Serve with mashed potatoes w/ gravy (you can always make your own, but I buy the jar) and your choice of veggie (I like frozen squash or mixed vegetables). The leftovers will make for a good addition to a salad, sandwich, stir fry, and soup. You can also use this method for a turkey (or turkey breast).
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