Herb Roasted (Whole) Chicken

I consider myself a chicken connoisseur.

It is my favorite form of savory protein. 

I love it in nearly every form.

It's useful in practically every dish. 

It's just plain delicious. 

But this. 

THIS is THE best chicken I have EVER eaten. 

Seriously. 

Kevin and I were drooling over the bird. 

We may have dug in with our fingers. 

Ahh, the beauty of it being just the two of us. :) 

I don't normally eat the skin of chicken. 

But this. 

THIS was irresistible.

Before we sat down to eat (and after we had already "sneaked" a few savory bites) Kevin said, 

"Every time I want to marry you all over again." 

*blush* 

But seriously. This is the simplest meal ever.

It took maybe five minutes to prepare. 

Only an hour to cook.

And less than a minute to devour. ;)

serves: 3-4

Ingredients

1 whole chicken, 4-5lbs 

2-3 Tbsp canola oil

1-2 tsp parsley flakes 

1 tsp dried thyme 

1 tsp oregano 

salt & pepper

1 orange or lemon, quartered

1 small onion, quartered

3 cloves garlic, crushed

Directions

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Remove wrappings and inner packing of chicken. Dry the surface of the chicken off thoroughly (in order to develop a crisp skin upon cooking.) 

In a small bowl whisk together oil and spices. Be generous with the salt and pepper. Slather the entire exterior of the chicken with the oil mixture. Stuff the chest cavity with aromatics (citrus, onion, garlic, etc.) 

Place on a shallow baking sheet or dish. Bake for 1 hour to 1 hour and 15 minutes or until crust is golden and crisp. 

Remove from oven and let REST for 10-25 minutes. This redistributes the juices throughout the meat, keeping it savory and extraordinarily moist. 

Pull off wings and drumsticks (the meat literally fell off of the drumsticks.) Slice breast meat as desired. Serve. and ENJOY.

Spicy Italian Sausage Chili

I was heading up a big fundraising event for our youth group.

The Church-wide Chili CookOff and Softball Night. 

Everyone was encouraged to bring their best pot of chili. 

And winner would go home with a $10 Applebee's gift card! 

Though I had been planning and plotting this event for months, one thing never occurred to me.

I should make chili. 

(Brilliant, right?!)

Participating in the chili cook-off hadn't, for whatever reason, entered my mind. 

Until the night before the event. 

So I figured I could throw something together as I always do.

This chili has a flavor all its own. 

It stands apart from the many other chilis I have created in the recent months of chilled temperatures. 

I started with the slices of sausage--my husband's fabulous idea. 

And from there the idea of an Italian themed chili was born. 

This turned out amazingly well. 

And while I didn't win, I did receive numerous compliments. 

Mostly from the teens! 

I'll take that! 

and you should make this!

Ingredients

canola oil, drizzle

3 sausage links (of your choice), sliced or ground 

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 whole onion, finely diced

1/2-1 whole carrot, grated (more=added sweetness)

2 small green peppers, diced

1/2-1 whole jalapeno, fined diced 

Salt

Pepper

1 tsp parsley

1/2 tsp basil

1/4-1/2 tsp chili pepper flakes

1 Tbsp (or more) chili powder

1-15 oz can diced Italian style tomatoes

2-15 oz cans kidney beans, drained and rinsed 

1 cup (8oz) beef bouillon broth

1-28oz can crushed Italian tomatoes

1-8oz can tomato sauce

1-8 oz can tomato paste 

1-2 cups water (depending on desired consistency) 

Directions

Heat large stock pot drizzled with canola oil to medium-medium high heat. Add sausage, onions and garlic and don't stir. This will allow the sausage to develop its color and release its flavor to the bottom of the pan. Stir and add in shredded carrot, green peppers and jalapenos. Cook until all the veggies are softened and fragrant. Add in salt, pepper, parsley, oregano, chili flakes, and chili powder. Stir to combine. 

Stir in beans and diced tomatoes. Stir in beef broth, using a wooden spoon to scrape (deglaze) the bottom of the pan--scraping up all of the delicious flavors of the sausage. Stir in remaining ingredients (adding water only to desired consistency). Let simmer 1 hour or more.

Lemon Chicken

Annie has done it again. 

This woman is seriously on my same path of thought and inspiration. 

As soon as I opened her recipe blog yesterday I knew I had just discovered my evening meal plan. 

This lemon chicken is Oh! so easy. 

And amazingly delicious. 

I, too, paired the chicken with rice and broccoli. 

The frozen broccoli was steamed to perfection. 

And I used whole grain brown rice in conjuction with my handy dandy rice cooker and a sprinkle of garlic salt. 

How was it that I ever thought I wouldn't use the rice cooker when we received it for a wedding gift?!

You should make this. 

Sometime soon. 

Preferably before summer. 

And then again during summer. 

It's just the perfect flavorings for the seasons.

recipe adapted from: Annie's Eats. 

Ingredients

2 tbsp. lemon zest (I didn't have a lemon. So no zest for me.)
1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
2-3 cloves garlic, crushed
2 tsp. fresh thyme leaves (I used dried)
1 tsp. fresh rosemary leaves, finely minced (I used dried oregano instead)
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. black pepper
2-4 lbs. of bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs or drumsticks
2-3 tbsp. melted butter
Thinly sliced lemons, for garnished, optional

Directions
Combine the lemon zest, lemon juice, garlic, thyme, rosemary, salt and pepper in a large zipper-lock plastic bag.  Seal the bag and shake well to blend.  Place the chicken pieces in the bag with the marinade, pressing out excess air and sealing once more.  Refrigerate and let marinate for 2 hours.

Preheat the oven to 425˚ F.  Remove the chicken pieces from the marinade and transfer to a baking dish, skin-side up, reserving the leftover marinade.  Brush the top of each piece of chicken with melted butter.

Bake for 50-55 minutes, until the skins are crispy and well-browned.  Halfway through baking, pour the remaining marinade over the chicken pieces in the baking dish.  Once fully baked, cover loosely with foil and let rest 10 minutes before serving.  Transfer to a serving platter, garnish with lemon slices and serve.

 

Strawberry Shortcakes

I couldn't believe I had never made shortcakes. 

It is possible that I had utilized the convenient "baking mix" (aka Bisquick) for this task, but even that is uncertain. 

The idea came for me in rapid succession. 

First, we were having two of our favorite friends over for dinner--Nick and Britt. 

After finally deciding on tacos for the main course, I wanted a lovely early summer dessert to top off our meal.

I had just finished making a batch of strawberry freezer jam when it occurred to me--

Strawberry Shortcakes. 

Brilliant! 

I had 2 pounds of strawberries leftover that needed to be used or else they would soon meet their demise. 

I wasn't sure if the berries would be good enough for this delightful dessert, but it turns out that adding sugar to the sliced berries yields pure strawberry perfection. 

The shortcake itself was so easy to throw together. 

One of the most low-maintenance desserts out there, I do believe. 

You can make these into "drop shortcakes" as well, but I liked the clean crisp lines that result from slicing the large cake. 

With an abundance of strawberries on sale in the grocery stores this week, I would definitely recommend this recipe for using the berries to their full potential. 

After one bite, you'll say, "MMmmmm!" 

Just like I may have in front of my company. :)

Serves 6-8
Recipe adapted from The Betty Crocker Cookbook.

Ingredients

2 pints strawberries (4 cups), sliced

1/2 cup sugar

----

2 cups flour

1/2 cup sugar

3 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cup firm butter or margarine

2/3 cup milk

1 large egg, slightly beaten

Sweetened Whipped Cream

Directions

In large bowl, stir strawberries and 1/2 cup sugar until well mixed. Let stand about 1 hour so strawberries can develop their juices.

Heat oven to 375 degrees F. Grease bottom and sides of a 8 inch or 9 inch round pan; flour lightly.

In medium bowl, mix flour 1/2 cup sugar, baking powder and salt. Cut in butter, using pastry blender (or pulling 2 knives through ingredients in opposite directions), until mixture looks like coarse crumbs. Stir in milk and egg just until blended. Mixture will be extremely thick. Spoon into pan; spread evenly.

Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool ten minutes in pan. Place serving plate upside down on pan; turn plate and pan over and remove pan. (I ended up flipping my shortcake back over (as it was originally in the pan) simply because it looked prettier.) Cut shortcake into wedges (6-8). If desired, split shortcakes horizontally in half while hot. Fill and top each wedge with strawberries and Sweetened Whipped Cream.

for Sweetened Whipped Cream

Note: Always start with cream right from the fridge, and if possible chill your bowl and beaters in the freezer for 10 minutes until cold to the touch. Recipe may be halved.

Ingredients

1 cup heavy whipping cream

2 Tbsp granulated or powdered sugar

1 tsp vanilla

Directions

In chilled medium bowl, beat all ingredients with electric mixer on high speed until soft peaks form. 

Prepare for deliciousness.