Few things are better than a homemade dinner, particularly one that you know is wholesome and can be counted on for leftovers. Roasted chicken with vegetables is one of my favorite meals to make because I know I can stretch it. Call me a dinner time hacker but I love it when I can make meals go further, stretching my dollars and my time. Chicken enchiladas with the leftover chicken meat, topping salads with leftover veggies, and creating a sort of liquid gold known as bone broth (or homemade chicken stock) are some of favorite ways to use leftovers from this meal. My favorite bone broth recipe can be found here.
Can we also just admit that roasted chicken seems incredibly fancy yet it’s easy as punch to throw together? The first time I ever made it I was shocked by this and utterly amazed. Are you a lazy (or tired mom at the end of a long day) person who wants your family to think you’re fancy? Try this dish — I promise you’ll wow everyone involved.
As a note, I highly suggest using chicken that you know is free of antibiotics, hormones, and soy or grain feed. Check labels and research local farmers. This is good practice with any type of meat, but particularly if you plan to make a nourishing, healing bone broth out of your left over bones. This is half the reason I make roasted chicken to begin with, and there’s definitely something to the healing power of chicken noodle soup when you’re fighting a cold. All the more reason to reach for the good stuff, am I right?
Serves: 2 with leftovers or 4 adults
Ingredients
- 1 whole chicken
- About 10 sprigs of rosemary
- 1 lemon
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 4-5 carrots, quartered
- 1 yellow squash
- 1 zucchini
- 1 large onion, quartered
- 6 garlic cloves, crushed
- 1 cup baby tomatoes, any variety
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 f.
- Remove the leaves from the stems of about 8 sprigs of rosemary and finely chop with a large chef knife.
- Remove chicken from packaging and pat dry with paper towels. Make sure the cavity is clean and emptied as well.
- Liberally season with salt and pepper, and coat all over with chopped rosemary.
- Stab your lemon a few times with a knife and fill the cavity with two rosemary sprigs, along with the lemon.
- Coat the bottom of a dutch oven with olive oil and place chicken breast up in the pot.
- Chop the vegetables (it's okay to leave them somewhat thick) and scatter around the chicken to fill up the dutch oven. No need to chop baby tomatoes, just toss them in.
- Put the lid on the dutch oven and bake for 1 hour, 15 minutes. You'll know it's done when the chicken juices run clear when pierced with a fork.
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