The Chicken...

A while ago I bought a pack of whole chicken's at Costco...great deal by the way. I put both in the freezer and saved them for a day when I had the courage to cook a whole chicken. These chickens only had some of the insides removed...this little detail made me wait a very long time.

The first chicken I cooked did not turn out so great. I didn't like the flavor and the recipe felt complicated for a beginner.

Finally a few days ago I began the process of defrosting the remaining chicken. Every night I would think about it being in the fridge, waiting for me. Raw whole chickens are not pleasant to look at.

I found an amazing recipe from Giada De Laurentiis. I usually find her recipes intimidating.  However, this Garlic-Roasted Chicken with Root Veggies was so easy and so yummy! The Food Network websites makes printing recipes so easy. I would recommend printing it out before you start cooking. If you're anything like me I looked over it a million times before I got the nerve to begin.

I attacked this chicken by first making the butter recipe, then the veggies, and then did the chicken part last.

Preheat over to 400, with the rack just below the center of the oven. 

Here is the recipe for the butter:

• 6 Tbs unsalted butter, at room temperature. Being at room temp. is really important.
• 2 tsp chopped fresh rosemary.
• 2 tsp chopped fresh thyme.
• 1/2 tsp fresh lemon juice.
• 1/2 tsp salt.
• 1/2 tsp black pepper.
• 3 lg. garlic cloves, minced.

Directions:
Mix all of that really well together.

Next prep the veggies:

• 3 Tbs extra-virgin olive oil.
• 1 tsp chopped fresh rosemary.
• 1 tsp chopped fresh thyme.
• 1 tsp salt.
• 1/2 tsp pepper.
• 6 baby red potatoes, halved.
• 4 medium carrots, peeled and halved lengthwise.
• 2 large parsnips, peeled and quartered lengthwise. I did not have any of these. 
• 2 large shallots, peeled and halved. I didn't have this either and used an onion instead. 
• 1 clove of garlic.
• 1/2 cup low sodium chicken broth.

Directions:

Toss all the veggies with the herbs and olive oil. Place on the bottom of the roasting pan. The chicken is going to sit on top. 

Now comes the part I was seriously afraid of...THE CHICKEN:

• One 6 pound chicken, rinsed and patted dry. If you have the chicken I had you will need to remove all the insides. Wash out the cavity as well.  The first time I did this I actually screamed...I know, very pathetic. This time I did a good job and got all of the insides out without fainting. Woo hoo. 
• Salt and Pepper.
• 5 sprigs of fresh rosemary.
• 5 sprigs of fresh thyme.
• 1 lemon, quartered.

Hmmmm doesn't that look pretty? No. 

Directions:

Tuck wings under chicken. Toss some salt and pepper over the chicken, and in the cavity (this is a gross word).  Spoon about 2 Tbs of the butter mixture into the cavity. Then stuff the lemon and the sprigs of herbs up there too. :) Tie the legs together with kitchen twine. 

This next part was fun...not. You have you loosen the skin over the chicken breast. Then shove some of the butter mixture inside the skin. Be gentle, you don't want it to rip. This helps keep the chicken moist. 

Massage the rest of the butter all over the chicken...bet you've always wanted to massage a chicken. :) 

The chicken will cook for 1 1/2 hours. You'll need an instant read thermometer to read 160-165 degrees.  My thermometer read around 168...oh well.

Let the chicken rest for about 20 minutes before serving.

Okay, so my chicken turned out so yummy...the veggies not so much. Not sure what happened to them...some were okay, but most were burnt to a crisp. Maybe I needed more chicken broth. 

Despite the not so great veggies, this turned out great. It wasn't as scary as I thought it was going to be. So I hope that you attempt this recipe. Let me know how it turns out for you! 

I plan on using this chicken for a lot of different recipes this week. Including chicken enchiladas! 

Make sure you clean everywhere the raw chicken touched! I attacked my fridge and kitchen with this stuff:

Thank you Jesus for Clorox Wipes!

Have a beautiful night!