Oven Roasted Chicken

Have you ever had those pre-cooked, oven roasted chickens from the grocery store? Me neither... But I do hear they are quite tasty!  If you have, you will never purchase another one, because now you can make your own at home for a fraction of the price!

Imagine an entire chicken for about $3.00.  They are usually around $1.00/lb. and can be even cheaper when on sale!  Thanks to the wonderful Taste of Home magazine yet again for this great recipe.

Shopping List:

1 whole chicken, rinsed, packet of yuckies removed, patted dry

3 Tbsp. olive oil

1 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. garlic powder

1 tsp. dried basil

6-8 small red potatoes

4 ribs celery

3 medium carrots

1 medium onion

Directions:

-Chop all veggies into bite sized portions. Set aside (in a 9x13 pan).  I usually use about 1/4 to 1/2 the amount of veggies for just the two of us.

-Heat oven to 375 degrees. Grease another 9x13 with cooking spray (I usually use a disposable for easy clean up). Place chicken in prepared pan.

-Whisk olive oil, salt, garlic powder, and basil together. Reserve 1 1/2 tablespoons for the vegetables. Brush remaining olive oil mixture onto chicken. Roast for 30 minutes.

-Toss remaining oil with veggies, spread them into a single layer (best you can) and cover with foil.

-TRICKY PART. Remove chicken from oven. Increase oven temp to 450 degrees. Baste chicken with drippings in bottom of the pan. Place both the chicken and veggies in oven when temperature is reached. ( I usually put them in a bit early because I don't want to wait).

-Roast 20 minutes. Remove foil from veggies, stir, and place back in oven uncovered. Roast 10 more minutes or until chicken is done/no longer pink! Allow to rest 10 minutes before carving.

In short:

-Prep chicken and veggies in separate pans.

-Roast chicken at 375 for 30 minutes.

-Baste chicken, up temperature to 450.

-Roast chicken and veggies for 20 minutes.

-Remove foil from veggies, roast veg and chicken for 10 minutes.

-Let stand for 10 minutes

-Eat

Chicken before roasting

Veggies before cooking

Finished Chicken

My favorite, some white meat! 

Finished Veggies



I know the directions seem a little crazy, but it is a super simple process, I promise!

Happy Eating!

Thank You Mrs. Ray!

I am a sucker for any cooking show, especially 30 minute meals! I have to admit that I rarely cook anything from the show, but this looked too good not to try! Yummy and quick calzones!

The Ingredients

Shopping List:
Kaiser Rolls (1 per person)
Thin sliced salami (about 5 slices/person)
1/2 cup Ricotta Cheese (She used Romano, but this is what I had leftover from lasagna)
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp. dried basil
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese (forgot it in the photo)
Dash of salt and pepper
1 large tomato
1 pkg. Fresh Mozzarella Cheese (you could use regular, but fresh is glorious)
1 jar artichoke bruschetta (found in the pasta sauce section)

Directions:
-Cut Kaiser Rolls in half, being generous with the bottom side. Scoop out some of the bread on bottom to create a pocket. Line the pocket with salami slices. This will help the bread to stay crunchy when the cheese starts to melt.
-Mix together Ricotta, garlic, basil, Parmesan, salt, and pepper. Place 1 to 2 Tbsp. of cheese mixture on top of salami (the pocket should be almost full).
-Slice the tomato and put a piece on top of the cheese mixture (as shown below).
-Next add a slice of mozzarella (we used very thick slices, but it is all up to you).
-Finally, spread some artichoke bruschetta over the cheese and seal with the top half of the bun.
-Bake on a baking sheet at 330 degrees for 15 minutes. Check to see if the cheese is melted and bake more according to taste.

Assembly of the Calzones

The Finished Sandwich

We ate these with a light dinner salad and they were delicious. Ooey and Gooey and cheesy.

A few notes:

-Our calzones didn't seem to melt well because we had a TON of cheese in them. We ended up popping them in the microwave for 20 seconds after they came out of the oven and they were perfect.

-Rachael Ray called for plain basil leaves instead of the artichoke bruschetta. I originally wanted to make a pesto to put on top for a little something extra, but the basil at the store looked sad. This jar of bruschetta tastes kind of like pesto and I think we will use the rest of it to bake some chicken later. You can decide what will work best for you!

Happy Eating