Roast Chicken

Since I wrote a blog on roasting vegetables, I felt compelled to write about my favorite roast- Roast Chicken. Well, pretty much any poultry makes me happy. Roasted Chicken can be an excellent protein source when considering your daily food choices. Also, a variety of meals can be derived from a Roast Chicken. I like to roast one at the beginning of a busy week.

Roasting is a lost art. Nowadays, everyone seems to buy their meats prepared and pre-cooked. Roasting is not difficult and is an economical easy way to feed a family, especially with all of today’s gadgets. The good news is that you do not have to hunt down your own food, cart it back home and clean it. You can purchase your meat directly from a butcher or a grocery shop. The bad news : There is some prep work, but I promise the small amount of tedium, will be rewarded ten-fold.
First off, roast two chickens. It’s not any more work than roasting one and it will provide you with more leftover chicken and more stock. You will be able to most likely get 2 meals out this roasting. Then after the second meal, use leftovers to make a casserole. If you make a large casserole, then you can stretch out the casserole for 2 meals, also. Lastly, using the bones to make stock, you can make soup. If you play your cards right, you can cook one, big meal and eat the rest of the week with minimal cooking involved, just invest the time in the beginning. Grilling will offer the same results. Below are some suggestions for roasting chicken and the leftovers. My basic chicken stock recipe is on Day 3 of my blog.
When making the Rosemary chicken, feel free to top the vegetables with the seasoning mixes from the Roasted Vegetables blog, just for variety.

ROSEMARY CHICKEN WITH VEGETABLES

3 tablespoons unsalted, butter, softened
3 Tablespoons of olive oil
10 cloves of garlic
1 lemon, cut in half
Grated zest of 1 lemon
12 sprigs of fresh rosemary (separate 4sprig out and chop the leaves up) Fresh parsley
Fresh sage
Fresh thyme
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
2 broiler chickens, 3 to 3 1/2 pounds each
1 large onions, thinly sliced
3 small carrots, peeled and cut into ½ inch dice
2 parsnips, peeled and cut into ½ inch dice (you can substitute turnip for parsnips, if you prefer)
1 medium zucchini, seeded and cut into ½ inch dice
2 large, Russet potatoes, peeled and cubed
½ white wine or chicken broth

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Using a spatula, combine the butter, olive oil, 2 cloves of garlic, pressed with the lemon zest, chopped rosemary, salt, and pepper in a mixing bowl until well blended.
3. Loosen the chicken skin by lifting it gently from the flesh with your fingers. The skin will lift quite easily.
4. Spread some of herbed butter under the skin. RESERVE 2 Tablespoon of butter mixture for vegetables.
5. Rub outside of chicken with lemon and place ½ of the lemon in each cavity of the chicken.
6. Place 2 sprigs of rosemary into the cavity of each chicken, along with the sage and thyme. The amount you use depends on how much you like. I fill my chicken with fresh herbs, but you can omit it entirely.
7. Tuck 1 sprig of rosemary under each wing.
8. Lightly spread the remaining 2 Tablespoons of the butter mixture over the chicken pieces.
9. Put the vegetables and the rest of the garlic into the roasting pan. Sprinkle with remaining herbs, chopped and lemon zest, salt and pepper.
10. Place the chicken on the bed of vegetable and move to preheated oven.
11. After about 30 minutes of roasting, add the wine or broth to roasting dish.
12. Continue roasting for approximately 90 minutes or until internal temperature of the thigh is 165. The chicken should be golden brown and the juices should run clear. Please be certain your chicken is cooked through. Total cooking time should be about 2 hours, depending on your oven. It may take longer for larger sized roasts.
13. After a 10 minute rest, covered with aluminum foil, move chicken to a platter for carving and vegetables to a serving bowl. Place pan juices in a bowl on the side.

Tikka Chicken – compliments of my dear, dear friend Sangeetha all the way over in India! I miss you.

6-8 lbs roasting chicken or 2 broiler chickens.

Marinade
1 Cup plain, low-fat Yogurt
2 teaspoon fresh mint of basil (1 teaspoon if using dried)
1 teaspoon fresh cilantro (or ½ teaspoon dried coriander)
2 cloves of garlic, smashed
1 inch fresh ginger, minced (1 tsp dried)
½ teaspoon sriracha sauce (chili paste) or 3 jalepeno chiles, chopped
¼ teaspoon Pepper
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 Bay leaf, crushed
¼ t Chinese Five Spice or anise powder (optional)
Juice from 1 fresh lemon (or 2 Tablespoons of lemon juice from concentrate)

1. Using a spatula, combine all the above listed ingredients (except the chicken) in a mixing bowl until well blended.
2. Loosen the chicken skin by lifting it gently from the flesh with your fingers. The skin will lift quite easily. Spread some of the yogurt marinade under the skin.
3. Rub remaining yogurt mixture all over the outside of the chicken.
4. Allow to marinate overnight. (If you’re pressed for time, you can cook it right away, but it tastes better after marinating.)
5. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
6. Roast chicken until internal, thigh temperature is 165 degrees. Serve after resting for 10 minutes, covered.
These leftovers are great as a chicken salad.

Sonoma Chicken Salad - compliments of Whole Foods market
Serves 6
Dressing
• 1 cup mayonnaise
• 4 tsp apple cider vinegar
• 5 tsp honey
• 2 tsp poppy seeds
• sea salt, to taste
• ground pepper, to taste

Salad
• 2 lb cooked, boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into cubes
• 3/4 cup pecan pieces, toasted in fry pan on stove
• 2 cups red seedless grapes, sliced in half
• 3 stalks celery, thinly sliced
Prepare the dressing by thoroughly mixing together all dressing ingredients in a bowl. Refrigerate until ready to dress the salad. (Can be prepared up to 2 days ahead.) Serve on crisp buttercrisp or bibb lettuce.

Stacy's White Chicken Chili

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, crushed or minced
1 fresh jalapeno peppers, seeded and diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 (4 ounce) can chopped green chile peppers
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon dried oregano
½ bunch of fresh parsley
1 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
2 (14.5 ounce) cans chicken broth (or 30 ounces homemade chicken stock)
2 cups chopped cooked chicken
3 (15 ounce) cans cannellini, great northern beans or chick peas, drained, rinsed and ½ pureed
1 & 1/2 cup shredded low-fat cheddar cheese
Sour cream and Cilantro (optional) for topping


1. Pour the oil in a large saucepan over medium-low heat. Slowly cook and stir the onion until tender.

2. Mix in the garlic, jalapeno, green chile peppers, red peppers, cumin, oregano and cayenne. Continue to cook and stir the mixture until tender, about 3 minutes.

3. Mix in the chicken broth, chicken and white bean puree. Simmer 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

4. Add remaining beans. Simmer additional 20 minutes

5. Remove the mixture from heat. Slowly stir in the cheese until melted and serve with additional cheese, sour cream and cilantro.