Citrus Bathed Roasted Chicken & Veggies

Roasted chicken, my new favorite family meal.  Why?  So EASY!  Plus, the next day it makes my Chicken Veggie Soup so scrumptious.  One of my least favorite parts of canned chicken is wondering what part of the chicken the meat really came from.  Well I never have to worry anymore!

When I roast the chicken I often find myself humming Simon and Garfunkel's song Scarborough Fair.

"....Parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme
Remember me to one who lives there
She once was a true love of mine"

Serves up to 6 people (if not using the chicken for soup the next day)  Prep time:  30 minutes  Cook time:  1-4 hrs depending on size of chicken.

Ingredients:

One whole chicken (100% natural with no preservatives)
2 tablespoons butter or olive oil
*1/2 teaspoon parsley 
*1 tsp ground sage
*1/2 teaspoon rosemary
*1/2 teaspoon thyme
*1/2 tsp salt
1 medium orange
1 lemon
1 medium onion (sliced)
1 large russet potatoe (largely diced)
1 large yam or sweet potatoe (largely diced)
4 medium carrots (peeled, and cut in large pieces) 

Directions:

Time cooking Depends on the size of your chicken.  Here is a table to help decide:  chicken roasting guide

1. Line roasting pan with foil and spray with non-stick cooking spray.
2. Preheat oven to 415 F.
3. Mix parsley, sage, rosemary, thyme, and salt in a small bowl.
   
4. Clean out chicken cavity.
   
5. Place chicken in roasting pan. (most recipes call for a roasting rack, I don't have one so I just put it on the foil.)  rub butter all over chicken skin, if possible separate skin from breast and slide in butter under the skin as well.   take herb mixture and rub over entire chicken.  Place chicken Breast side down (for more moist breast meat) if you want a good presentation, cook breast side up.
   
6. Squeeze orange and lemon juice over the chicken.  Cut the lemon peel up into four pieces and place inside chicken cavity.  Make sure there is room for air to escape.
7. Place veggies around chicken.  drizzle with olive oil.  sprinkle with extra "parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme" hmmm, hmmm, hm ,hm.... oh and a little salt and pepper.
8. Place roasting pan on bottom rack.
9. Cook for 15 minutes on 415 F.  Then Roast on 350 F for remaining time.  (The high heat helps make a crispier skin.)
10. Remove chicken when meat thermometer reads 175 degrees F when placed in the meaty part of the chicken thigh not quite touching the bone.
11. Allow the chicken to rest 10-15 minutes before cutting or serving.  This will allow the juices to settle.
12. If you are into basting, baste every 20-30 minutes with the chicken juices from pan.  (I have found that my chicken turns out just fine and super moist without basting.  Probably due to the butter I spread all over pre-roasting.
13. Save the extra juice left over and the extra chicken and veggies for your soup you will surely be making tomorrow or pasado manana or freeze the juice and chicken and veggies to make soup later.
    

Once you get the hang of roasting a chicken you will never go back to the overly greasy, intensely sodium saturated Rotisserie chicken sold at your local grocery store.

*my herb garden is in dormant season (actually when I went to UT during the summer the intense heat and lack of H2O is what did them in) I am currently using dried herbs.  Once they are growing again, I will be using fresh herbs.  I would place a few sprigs of rosemary inside the chicken cavity if available.

Next recipe to come....Hearty Chicken Veggie Soup