How to impress someone a lot by doing a little
Maybe I should have posted this around Valentine's Day, but people need to eat food every day so I guess it doesn't matter. Some people are afraid of cooking. Maybe you've had multiple disasters in the past, think it's too hard/time consuming, or you just don't like it. What those people don't realize is that cooking can be very very easy and still come out delicious and maybe even impress someone you've always wanted to cook for. Yesterday for Sunday night dinner, I roasted a chicken, my mom roasted some veggies, and we both put barely any effort into it. Guess what? It was soooooo good.
Roasted Chicken:
1 whole chicken (I used a 7lb Purdue chicken)
2 Tbl olive oil
Lawry's seasoning salt (or whichever is your favorite)
1 sprig of thyme
1 sprig of rosemary
1 sprig of sage
Roasted Vegetables (serves 4):
1 eggplant
1 zucchini
2 large onions
2-3 red bell pepers
salt + pepper
1/2 Tbl garlic powder
1 Tbl olive oil
Preheat your over to 350ยบ. On the bag the chicken comes in, it should tell you how long to cook your bird based on it's weight. Since I had a 7lb chicken, it cooked for 2 1/2 hours. To prep the chicken, take it out of the bag, remove the giblets, and rinse the chicken with water. Put the oil in a pan with deep sides to hold in the juice, spread it around, and place in the chicken skin side up (pictured above). Tuck the wings underneath the chicken to keep it from sliding around. Place the herbs in a bundle inside the cavity of the chicken. Sprinkle the top of the chicken with your seasoning salt, as much as you'd like.
The chicken should have a white circular piece of plastic on top of it, which will indicate when the chicken is done by popping up. After the allotted time has passed, take the chicken out of the oven and let it sit for 15-20 minutes. Cut the chicken by cutting the thighs off first (vertical slice down the thigh using your hand to pull it out at the same time), followed by a horizontal slice on each side of the bird near where the thighs were. Then, cut a vertical line directly in the middle of the chicken and proceed to slice pieces.
Boom you just made a simple roasted chicken.
The veggies are even easier (unless you are dreadful at cutting). Cut all of the veggies to about the same size (we do about 1 inch cubes), and place them in a heavy roasting pan that is thoroughly greased with oil. Sprinkle with the salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Roast the veggies for 40 minutes, stirring halfway through. It will make your life even easier if you put them in during the last 40 minutes of your chicken's roasting time so everything is done together!
The best part is that there will be plenty of leftovers to get creative with! Enjoy :)
Roasted Chicken Nutrition Facts:
Calories: 207 per 4oz
Total Fat: 15.6g
Cholesterol: 66.7mg
Sodium: 451.5mg
Protein: 15.3g
Roasted Vegetables Nutrition Facts:
Calories: 101 per serving
Total Fat: 4g
Sodium: 155.4mg
Carbohydrates: 16.3g
Fiber: 5.8g
Sugars: 7.3g
Protein: 2.8g
Roasted Chicken:
1 whole chicken (I used a 7lb Purdue chicken)
2 Tbl olive oil
Lawry's seasoning salt (or whichever is your favorite)
1 sprig of thyme
1 sprig of rosemary
1 sprig of sage
Roasted Vegetables (serves 4):
1 eggplant
1 zucchini
2 large onions
2-3 red bell pepers
salt + pepper
1/2 Tbl garlic powder
1 Tbl olive oil
Preheat your over to 350ยบ. On the bag the chicken comes in, it should tell you how long to cook your bird based on it's weight. Since I had a 7lb chicken, it cooked for 2 1/2 hours. To prep the chicken, take it out of the bag, remove the giblets, and rinse the chicken with water. Put the oil in a pan with deep sides to hold in the juice, spread it around, and place in the chicken skin side up (pictured above). Tuck the wings underneath the chicken to keep it from sliding around. Place the herbs in a bundle inside the cavity of the chicken. Sprinkle the top of the chicken with your seasoning salt, as much as you'd like.
The chicken should have a white circular piece of plastic on top of it, which will indicate when the chicken is done by popping up. After the allotted time has passed, take the chicken out of the oven and let it sit for 15-20 minutes. Cut the chicken by cutting the thighs off first (vertical slice down the thigh using your hand to pull it out at the same time), followed by a horizontal slice on each side of the bird near where the thighs were. Then, cut a vertical line directly in the middle of the chicken and proceed to slice pieces.
Boom you just made a simple roasted chicken.
The veggies are even easier (unless you are dreadful at cutting). Cut all of the veggies to about the same size (we do about 1 inch cubes), and place them in a heavy roasting pan that is thoroughly greased with oil. Sprinkle with the salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Roast the veggies for 40 minutes, stirring halfway through. It will make your life even easier if you put them in during the last 40 minutes of your chicken's roasting time so everything is done together!
The best part is that there will be plenty of leftovers to get creative with! Enjoy :)
Roasted Chicken Nutrition Facts:
Calories: 207 per 4oz
Total Fat: 15.6g
Cholesterol: 66.7mg
Sodium: 451.5mg
Protein: 15.3g
Roasted Vegetables Nutrition Facts:
Calories: 101 per serving
Total Fat: 4g
Sodium: 155.4mg
Carbohydrates: 16.3g
Fiber: 5.8g
Sugars: 7.3g
Protein: 2.8g
