A Husband-Cooked Meal

One of my favorite things about Eric is that the man can cook. He knows how to make everything, and it's always good, always impressive, and I'm always asking him to cook me something else! A couple of weeks ago he made one of my favorites from the Eric Recipe Files-- Roasted Chicken.

This recipe is one of my favorites because it's easy, it's delicious, inexpensive, and it makes for terrific leftovers. We used the leftover chicken in our Chicken Spaghetti and it took it to a whole new level.

To make a roast chicken I recommend a few essentials: a large roasting pan lined with foil, more foil to cover the chicken to keep it from getting too crisp, and a beer can stand to set up the chicken-- EVEN if you don't use beer! It's just a very handy way to keep your chicken stable and keep the moisture in while it cooks.

To start, you'll need a whole chicken, cleaned out and patted dry (inside and out). Preheat your oven to 450.

Season the chicken to your liking; we use a mix of salt and pepper, BBQ dry rub, rosemary, and garlic powder.

Salt and pepper the inside of the chicken, and stuff with a few cloves of smashed garlic, an onion cut into small sections, a lemon, and a few sprigs of parsley and sage if you have them.

Tuck the wings under the breast so they don't burn, and get the legs as close together as you can; if you can tie them together, that's even better.

Roast the chicken at 450 for about 30 minutes. Then turn the temperature down to 425 and continue to roast for another 30-40 minutes until you get an internal temperature of 165 (this is a good time to add any white wine or lemon juice to the pan that you may want for extra flavor and juiciness.) Be sure to check the chicken toward the end of the roasting period and cover with foil if needed to prevent the skin from getting too brown.

After you pull the chicken, allow it to rest for at least 10-15 minutes before you serve.

And that's it! 

Serve with your favorite sides (we made sweet potatoes with extra butter and brown sugar) and a fresh salad, and you'll have a very easy meal that will impress just about anyone. Including your very high maintenance wife (thanks, honey!) Enjoy!