Roasted Chicken

(Yes, this chicken is upside down.)

You can go into any grocery store and buy a rotisserie chicken for about $7. However, it doesn't come close to a chicken you roast at home. Sure, roasting a chicken takes time, but it isn't hard.

Here is a fail-proof way to make a delicious, crispy-skin chicken.

After much research, I have found a way to make crispy-skin chicken. It is one of those "I'm trying very hard not to eat all the tasty skin off this chicken because it might clog my arteries instantly, but it just might be worth it." chickens.


First, you need a chicken. A 3 lb fryer will feed 4 people (2 for dark meat, 2 for light) and you will have some leftovers.

The secret to crispy skin is to salt the chicken and let it sit for a while. You can either season your chicken in the morning, refrigerate it, and then roast it at night, or season the chicken and let it sit on the counter for 30 - 45 minutes. (No longer than an hour.)
When you season a chicken, rub seasoning and olive oil all over the chicken, inside and out.

For tonight's chicken I used salt (about 2 tsp), black pepper, rosemary, onion powder (about 1/4 tsp), and the juice of half a lemon. In the body cavity I put a bay leaf and the squeezed out lemon.

There are many seasons that go well with chicken. I usually use thyme, but was out. You can use French basil, savory, white pepper, sage, celery salt... try different combinations to find what you like. You can also put celery, half an onion, a piece of orange, carrots, fresh herbs... into the bird cavity.

Put the chicken into your roasting pan breast-side down and let it sit, either in the refrigerator for a day or on the counter for up to an hour.

Preheat the oven to 450.

Roast the chicken breast-side down in the oven for 20 minutes.
An excellent way to cook a chicken is to roast veggies along with it. While the chicken is roasting for the initial 20 minutes, you can prepare veggies. On nights I'm running short on time, I throw baby carrots into the pan. Peeling and dicing (into 1 inch cubes) fresh beets, carrots, turnips, white potatoes, parsnips, celery root, butternut squash... is a great addition and side to chicken. I also like to get small red potatoes and peel one stripe around the middle and stick those into the pan. Fingerling potatoes (poked with a fork) work well, too.

After 20 minutes of roasting, flip the chicken so that it is breast-side up. Add the veggies around the chicken, tossing them in any pan juices.

Roast the chicken and the veggies for an additional 25 minutes.
Once the chicken has been in the oven for 45 minutes, take the chicken's temperature. Insert a meat thermometer into a thick part of the thigh, being careful not to hit any bones. The internal temperature must read 160 degrees. If the chicken is at 155 +, turn off the oven and let the chicken sit for 10 minutes. If the temperature is lower than 155, continue roasting, checking the temperature in 6-10 minutes (depending on how close it is or is not to 155).
While you are in there, give the veggies a stir.

Once the chicken is done, remove to a cutting board and let the chicken rest breast-side down for a few minutes before turning over and carving.

While waiting, you can remove the veggies from the pan and heat the pan on the stove top with some chicken broth (a cup is more than enough... or you can use a little water, a little white wine, any combination of the above...) and scrape the brown bits off the bottom of the pan and let it boil for a few minutes (while you carve your chicken). You can enjoy this pan sauce as is or thicken this with a roux (or Wondra) for more of a gravy.

Enjoy!Chicken served with acorn squash (which you can roast in a separate pan at the same temperature for about 40 minutes, cut side down, with a little water in the pan), mashed russet potatoes and celery root, and (overly) roasted baby carrots. (I've adjusted the time above so that this does not happen to you.)

Now I'm ready for some FOOTBALL!

I have been a slacker in the kitchen as of late. After a summer of morning sickness, traveling, and starting up the school year, I'm back at it... or at least, my crock pot is. I'm still trying to balance teaching, pregnancy, and trying to clean after a month of being gone, so time for making delicious, healthy food is limited.
I digress.


Happy football season, everyone! It is still muggy down here in the south (today it wasn't bad - 75 - but the rain made it a bit sticky) but that can't stop me from enjoying some of the best things about football season: chili.

(Let's be honest... at every football gathering you can always find at least one person more excited about the food than the sport. Chili and football were made for each other.)

This is crock pot chili. You can make it the night before (start it late Saturday if you want to make it for a 1 p.m. Sunday game) or Monday before work for Monday night football. Or you could make it any other time you like.

This makes hot chili. If you want to tone it down, use Ro*Tel's Original tomatoes with chili peppers (for medium) or mild for, well, mild. Don't skip the chilies, though.

If you find, after cooking, it is too hot, add more tomatoes.


You will need:

1 sweet onion, diced
1 - 1.5 lb ground beef
2 large cans (14-16 oz) tomato puree
2 8 oz cans Ro*Tel diced tomatoes with chilies (hot)
2 4 oz cans fire-roasted diced green chili (mild) - I get mine at Trader Joe's
1 large can (or 2 regular cans) dark red kidney beans
1 can pinto beans
1 can great northern white beans
onion & garlic powders
salt
smoked paprika
chili powder (I use Penzey's Chili 3000 - it is fantastic)
something to eat your chili over - I like elbow pasta

I use my standard sized crock for this. If you have a little crock, cut it in half.


Brown the beef and caramelize the onions. Put into crock with the next 3 ingredients. Add 1 TBS salt, 4 TBS chili powder, and 1 tsp smoked paprika.
Cook on low for 6+ hours (or, if you are in a rush, high for 3)

1 hour before serving (ish... 30 min - 2 hours, really):
Add beans (drained), 1 TBS smoked paprika, onion and garlic powders to taste (if you don't know where to start, add 1.5 tsp of each and go from there), and salt if needed. If it isn't as hot as you would like, stir in some crushed red pepper.
Simmer on low.

If there is too much liquid, remove the lid while it simmers.

Enjoy!