perfectly roasted chicken (and what to do with the leftovers)

I was raised in a house full of chicken. We had chicken almost every night, every type of chicken; Chicken Kiev, Teriyaki Chicken, Honey Mustard Chicken, Chicken Tenders, Chicken Tetrazzini, Chicken everything. When I began dabbling in cooking, a whole chicken was out of the question, it never even crossed my mind as being possible. One day when I was bored I thought maybe I could tackle the whole chicken, with a back-up plan being possible since I had so much time! Once I decided to go for it, I bought the supplies, returned to the house, was hands-on for 10 minutes and then before I knew it I was DONE. It really was shocking how easy but impressive it was! Now having made over 20 roasted chickens, my newest obstacle to tackle is the timing of the sides...figuring out when to put sides into the oven so they aren't hard and undercooked or crisped to dust. Last night I finally got it!

Ingredients:
1 whole chicken (3-5lbs)
2 onions
6 carrots
3 potatoes
1 lemon
5 cloves of garlic
Salt, pepper, and herbs of choice (I used herbs de provence)
Olive oil for drizzling 

Directions:
 1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

 2. Remove giblets from cavity of chicken. Pat dry to ensure crispiness of chicken. Stand chicken up to drizzle olive oil, salt, pepper, herbs and spices of choice (herbs de provence, cayenne pepper, oregano, rosemary, basil, anything!), and lemon juice from 1 lemon into chicken. Also put in lemon rind from juiced lemon, 5 cloves of garlic (no need to peel), and 1 onion chopped roughly. 

3. Lay down on roasting pan, tuck wings under to provide even roasting, and tie legs together with cooking twine. Rub olive oil over top of chicken. Top with herbs and spices of choice. Salt and pepper.

4. Pop chicken into the preheated oven. Set timer for 30 minutes. (Set timer for 1 hour and 10 minutes if just making chicken or not these sides)

5. Once 30 minutes is up, wash potatoes and add to the oven. Set timer for 20 minutes.

6. Once 20 minutes has passed, add carrots and chopped onions to roasting pan with chicken. Set timer for 20 more minutes.

7. When timer is finished, remove chicken and place on a plate. Cover chicken with tin foil for 10 minutes to have chicken reabsorb liquids. Keep veggies in oven during this time.

8. Cut chicken and enjoy!

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What to do with the leftovers: Chicken noodle soup (of course)!

 1. Remove chicken from bones and set aside. In a large soup pot, bring 4 cups of chicken stock and 2 cups of water to a simmer. Place chicken carcass and bones into liquid, lower and simmer partially covered for 30 minutes to release taste of chicken into stock.

2. Strain liquids and reserve in a bowl.

3. Return pot to medium heat with a tablespoon of vegetable oil. Chop up some vegetables of choice (onions, celery, carrots, potatoes, etc!) and add to oil. Add salt, pepper, and thyme.

 4. When vegetables soften (about 7 minutes but time varies depending on cut-size), add chicken, and broth. Cook together for a few minutes to mix flavors. Package up and let it cool off before popping it in the fridge.

5. Boil up some egg noodles for about 3 minutes until softened but mildly al dente. Package and again wait to cool before popping in the fridge.

To heat up, simply dump liquid and noodles into a covered pot over medium heat. Heat up and serve a warm, filling, and super-filling dinner or lunch for the next day!

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