Chicken on Sunday, Dinner on Wednesday

I know that a basic roasted chicken is nothing to crow about, but when August hits full force with all it’s heat and rain, I am always looking for cool meal ideas. Heating the kitchen as little as possible is always my goal. I try to come up with good meals that I can serve all week but only have to turn the oven on maybe once. This week I roasted a chicken, one that was big enough to serve 2 or 3 times.

Now, I know that most grocery stores sell prepared roasted chickens these days, but I’m also aware of how much they cost. In our grocery store a scrawny little 2-3 pound bird is almost 6 dollars. I picked up 2 birds, each about 4 pounds, for the same price. The store bought birds are good and I use them myself, but nothing beats a juicy home roasted bird. I roast it on Sunday, throw in several potatoes to bake along with it and you have every thing you need for a quick Wednesday dinner.

Basic Roasted Chicken

1 3-4 LB chicken
several sprigs of rosemary and thyme
coarse kosher salt
fresh cracked black pepper
1 lemon
olive oil

Preheat the oven to 425.

Wash the chicken thoroughly. Pat dry with paper towels. Season the cavity liberally with salt and pepper. Stuff the cavity with the rosemary, and thyme. Cut the lemon in half and stuff into the cavity. Liberally season the outside of the bird with salt and pepper. Place in a shallow baking dish and drizzle with olive oil. Place in the hot over and bake for 20 minutes. Reduce the oven temp to 375 and continue roasting 40 to 60 minutes or until the legs are tender. Remove from the oven and let rest for 15 before carving.

Now on the other hand, this award from Jersey Girl Cooks is something to crow about. This is my first blog award and I couldn't be more proud. Check out her blog, she has some great recipes and some really great music!

Thanks Jersey Girl and Happy Birthday!