Don't be "chicken"!

My triumph!

I had been afraid for a long time.  I was afraid of roasting a whole chicken.  I was.  Every Sunday I would proclaim to Kyle that I was going to roast a chicken that week.  Then I would get to the grocery store and look at the whole chickens with their giblets, necks, and juice and salmonella and I wouldn't do it.  So this week I decided to kick the habit and I did it!  And it was delicious!  So I'm here to share with you today my roast chicken recipe as well as the butternut squash that went with it.

I bought a whole chicken that was sans giblets to ease my fear.  Take a look at the sodium content on the back of the bird.  If it's anywhere above 7% put it back.  That baby is injected with sodium and you do not want that on your table! My bird was about 2 1/2 pounds with a sodium percentage of 3%.

Once totally thawed, rinse your bird and pat dry.  Then season the sheeeehhittt out of the bird!  I used salt, pepper, oregano, rosemary, sage leaves, and Penzey's salt free Bavarian spice.  I rubbed some vegetable oil into the top of the skin.  I also used butter (insert gasp here).  I cubed about 1T of butter and slid in under the skin about the breast meat.  I wouldn't have done it, but kids it's a necessary evil!

I used a foil-lined cake pan in a 350 oven to cook the bird. Tent the foil on top of the bird for 45 minutes to start.  Then pull the foil down for the remainder of the cooking time to brown the skin. Mine took 2 hours total, but a meat thermometer should read 165 in the thigh when done.  Let the chicken rest about 15 minutes before slicing.

It was moist, flavorful, delicious, AND the whole bird cost $3.49!  Are you KIDDING me?  Move over Sandra Lee cuz I just rocked a money saving meal!

I also made a pan gravy..but more about that yumminess another day!

Making a whole chicken was not as scary as I thought! I don't know why I'd been a "chicken" for so long!

There's also a million things you can do with the leftovers.  I made Kyle a chicken pasta salad for lunch.  I combined the shredded meat with whole wheat pasta, freshly torn basil, EVOO, and a little parmesan cheese.  He was a big fan!

Now I'm well aware that cooking a chicken isn't a Nobel Prize winning achievement and I'm sure most of you have done it countless times with ease.  But it was a first for me.  It's healthy and I was proud of what I did!  It's not about how big your mountain is, but how many times you've looked at it and not made it to the top. Harness your inner Miley Cryus and climb that mountain! :)

What food are you scared of?  Let's conquer those kitchen fears together!

Love and white meat,
Kyle & Carissa