Tutorial Tuesday/Sunday Suppers--Roast Chicken

My Tutorial Tuesday post this week is doubling as my Sunday Suppers post since Sunday was Mother's Day and I didn't post.  We had this meal earlier in the week--it is fairly new to our rotation, but becoming a staple for several reasons.  1) It is cheap, especially if you catch the sales.  Our regular grocery store has whole fryer (also called broiler) chickens on sale every few weeks or so for less than a dollar a pound (I think this was a $.67 per pound sale...).  I've seen them for as low as $.49 a pound, so when that happens, stock up (well, get at least 2...our freezer is small and won't hold much more than 2...).  Note that these are the whole chickens from the meat department, not the rotisserie chickens from the deli...2) It is easy.  I just pop it in the oven with some spices and 2 hours later, dinner is ready.  3)  It makes a lot of chicken--enough that we can eat the roast chicken one night, have left over chicken for lunch the next day, then use the rest of the leftover chicken in a new dish for dinner the next night.

Below is our chicken ready for the carving (Lucas' job.  I'm no good with sharp objects.).

Roast Chicken

1 4-5 lb. whole fryer chicken

1 lemon, cut in half

1 tsp. lemon zest

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 Tbsp. butter, melted

1 bay leaf

1/2 tsp. dried rosemary

salt and pepper

Directions:

1.  Rinse chicken under water and remove any giblets from the cavity.  Rinse cavity.

2.  Place chicken in a roaster pan, breast side up (I use a 9x13 pan because I don't have a roaster, and it works just fine...).

3.  Combine butter, zest, and garlic in a small bowl.  Brush onto all sides of chicken.

4.  Sprinkle rosemary, lemon zest, and salt and pepper to taste onto chicken.

5.  Cut lemon in half and squeeze juice all over chicken.  Place lemon halves inside chicken cavity.  Add bay leaf to cavity as well.

6.  Bake in 350 degree oven for 1 hour 30 minutes to 2 hours, or until internal temperature reaches 165-170 degrees and juices run clear.

We served our chicken with sweet potato fries and sauteed zucchini and squash.

On night number 2, we used the leftover chicken to make a chicken curry served with rice and sweet potato fries (again.  we really like them....).

So, enjoy!  Be sure to check out more Tutorial Tuesday at Monkeys on the Bed!