Roasted Chicken

I think one of the easiest and most versatile things to cook is a simple roasted chicken. I roast chicken several different ways. Honestly, between my mom and I, I think we could come up with enough recipes of chicken and rice to fill a whole cookbook. I seriously cook some version of chicken and rice at least twice a week. It's easy, it's fast, my girls love it and it makes versatile leftovers.
Today, I did a basic lemon herb roasted chicken

I washed the chicken, put it on the roasting rack. Rubbed it down with olive oil, the juice of 2 meyer lemons, meyer lemon zest, salt, garlic powder, lemon pepper, red pepper, sweet basil, and oregano. I rubbed it good and spread seasoning in between the breast meat and skin.
I stuffed a lemon sliced in half into the carcass as well.
Baked at 350 for a good 2 hours
I always let my chicken rest after I take it out of the oven for about 5 mins then I cut it and place it on a platter and pour the juice from the bottom of the pan all over.
I cut the chicken by first slicing down the middle of the breasts. I then cut the drumsticks and thighs together then wings. Makes for a pretty platter. The key though is pouring all the juice over the meat!

 

For this meal, I cooked some Trader Joe's butternut squash ravioli, roasted zucchini and a simple salad.

Here is what I served the girls

 To be honest, they were not the biggest fans of the butternut squash ravioli's. They were kind of a bust and wouldn't buy them again. My girls LOVE cucumbers so that is always my go to fresh vegetable to serve to them. We seriously go through so many cucumbers in our house it's crazy. We all love them and probably eat at least 4 cucumbers a day!

 

For Jerry and I, we ate the chicken with salad and roasted zucchini.
I love oven roasted vegetables and you will see that almost every night we have them.
They are so fast and easy.
I usually cook supper in the late afternoon while the girls are napping or playing, so I like to cook things I dont have to think about too much or watch constantly.
I just season with olive oil, salt, red pepper, lemon pepper, basil and oregano and bake at 350 until tender on a foil lined cookie sheet.

The best thing about roasting a chicken is the leftover chicken! The chicken is moist and flavorful and there is endless possiblities of easy fast meals to make with it.
Here are some of our favorites...

Chicken Salad (finely chop chicken, celery, onions, pepers and a lil mayo) then you can stuff it in a tomato or avocado
Chicken Quesadillas (girls love tortilla, avocado, cheese cooked on stovetop quesadilla style)
Chicken Pitas (pita with chicken, topped with tzatziki sauce and tomatoes

Some weeks, when I know its going to be a busy week I will roast two chickens to have the meat on hand to make fast easy meals!