The Reconstruction Of Meals: A Chicken & Veggies Tale

After all the baking I've been doing lately, I decided to take a break and make a meal for dinner. I bought a chicken at the United Methodist Church of North Chili's farmers' market a week or two ago. I love making a savory meal, and the thought of a whole chicken was too good an opportunity to pass up. I bought a three pound little guy and brought him home to dress him up. The next day he was allowed to thaw, and once all his ice crystals had melted I was ready to start my culinary adventure.

I decided to make a roast of the event. I would put the chicken in the middle of a giant roasting pan and put carrots, potatoes, celery, onions and whole garlic cloves in the surrounding space. I put a season of Gilmore Girls in (my go-to cooking/baking show for background noise), and I got to work cleaning and chopping all my veggies. Once they were all properly cut I threw a little oil on. This helps the potatoes to keep their color and not turn brown, and also make the really good stuff stick. Next I got out jar after jar of herbs, parsley, thyme, oregano, seasoned salt, onion and garlic powder, salt, and pepper, and maybe a few others. I poured about a teaspoon on each herb into my palm and then rubbed my hands together over the veggies. Breaking the leaves releases the oils from the herbs and makes the smell and flavor much more intense and wonderful.

Next I prepared the chicken. I forgot to do this, but it would be wise to slather your chicken in butter or oil. I prefer oil. I put butter on a turkey last Thanksgiving and let it rest over night. The butter had hardened and was so disgusting. I couldn't help but think of my arteries. Oil doesn't do that though....so that must mean my arteries are fine, right? Yes. Anywho, slather the bird in oil (gives it flavor and stickiness), then bring out your herbs and other seasonings and sprinkle generously. I am a huge fan of lots of flavor, so don't be shy. I'm not. When it comes to seasonings.

I put herbs, carrots, onions, garlic, and grapes inside to give fab flavor.

Once your chicken is sufficiently prepared, put him in the middle of your roaster. Scoop up the seasoned veggies and assemble around the bird. Look up how much time a bird needs to cook by how much it weighs. Mine was supposed to cook for an hour and a half to two hours.

The chicken was gorgeous, golden brown and smelled like an herb garden on fire. The veggies could have cooked a bit longer. I got a little over zealous with my veggies and had them a touch too crowded. I imagine they would have baked better if they had been one layer and not piled on top of each other. Overall though the flavors were out of this world! So incredible!

After eating I had a ton of leftovers..I'm good at getting carried away with food. So I decided to make a soup out of the leftovers. Ina Garten says this is the best thing to do with leftover roasted veggies, and boy does Ina know what she's talking about. I pulled the rest of the meat off the chicken and put all the extras in a pot of water with lots of bouillon. I added some frozen peas and corn to the mix, let it simmer until the veggies were finally cooked through, and voila! A new meal!

 This is what I love about cooking and baking. You can be creative, think out of the box, use your imagination, and throw caution to the wind! Especially if it is just for you and close family who won't judge your flops too harshly; it's the best! And it's even better when your creations turn out magnificently, as this creation did, and people ooo and ahhh over their meal. I love it!