Whole Roast Lemon Chicken with Vegetables

Roasting a whole chicken can seem intimidating, but it can also make for an easy inexpensive dinner and the beginning of many extra meals with the left overs. I try to only purchase whole chickens when they are on sale (they can get down to about $0.39 a lb!) then I purchase a few and freeze them. For some reason this is a huge crowd pleaser and people always think its really difficult and impressive. It's pretty simple and awesome comfort food. Plus it is a 1 pan meal.

Ingredients:
1 whole chicken (remove any giblets or organs inside and toss) rinsed and patted dry
salt
pepper
1-2 tsp Italian seasoning (if you have fresh rosemary, thyme, and oregano you can use that as well, diced fine)
2 large lemons
olive oil
3-4 cloves garlic minced
1/2 tsp onion powder
1 large onion chopped
1-2 handfuls baby carrots
2 medium potatoes washed well and chopped into bite size pieces.
large roasting pan (I line mine with foil for easy clean up)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
After you have rinsed the chicken tie the legs together and place in the pan breast up.

Rub a liberal splash of olive oil over the chicken and season the chicken liberally with salt and pepper. Next sprinkle your Italian seasoning or fresh herbs, onion powder and minced garlic on to the chicken. You can also season under the skin for an extra boost of flavor. to do this lift the skin at the back (where you have tied the legs) and run your fingers underneath. The skin should separate from the breasts fairly easily. You can then rub olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic and spices under the skin (use about half of the spices under the skin and half on top.

Then slice 1 lemon and cut the second in half. Take 1 half lemon and squeeze the juice over the top of the chicken (careful for seeds). Place the other half of the lemon inside the chicken. Then lay the slices of lemon on top of the chicken.

Add all of your veggies to the pan around the chicken. You can season them however you like, or leave them out if you don't want them.

Place the pan in the oven.
At this point I insert my handy dandy Polder thermometer and set it to tell me when the temp inside the chicken has hit 165 degrees. (place the probe deep into one breast to give the most accurate reading.

 Don't have a fancy thermometer and want one? Get it here:
 http://www.amazon.com/Polder-Original-Cooking-Timer-Thermometer/dp/B0000CF5MT/ref=sr_1_17?s=kitchen&ie=UTF8&qid=1329781902&sr=1-17

If you dont have a thermometer then the rule of thumb for cooking whole chicken is 20 minutes per pound plus 20 minutes. So a 4 pound chicken would need 100 minutes to cook.

To test if it is done pierce the chicken breast just above and in front of the widest part of the leg. The juice should run yellow/clear not pink or red if it is done.

When the chicken is done remove it from the oven and let it sit on the counter in the pan covered for 15 min. Resting the meat keeps the chicken juicy.

Next carve the chicken: starting at the front of the breast cut down and away from the top of the chicken. Also remove the legs by pulling up on the drumstick and slicing through the joint near the body. (between the leg and thigh). Use a fork to steady as you are cutting.

Once you have enjoyed your tasty chicken dinner. You can remove all the remaining meat and save for chicken pot pies, chicken soup, chicken salad, fajitas etc. I typically just pick the remaining meat off with clean fingers and store it in a ziplock. The bones/carcass can also be used to make soup stock; just boil with chopped veggies of your choosing until reduced by half. Strain well.

Happy Eating :)