Last week was a meal planning fail. We went out three out of seven nights. Not sure what's wrong with me, but the thought of cooking just seemed so totally overwhelming this whole week. We would have gone out a fourth night, but Reid saved the day on Thursday by offering to cook. He's a whiz in the kitchen, and if he weren't a philosopher, I'd say he'd make a pretty good chef. Lucky me! It was our 2nd anniversary this week, so I'm feeling extra grateful to be married to him!
Barring anymore of the too-overwhelmed-to-cook feelings this week, here's what will be on our plates:
Saturday: We ate leftover Chicken Fried Steak and mashed potatoes. We cooked this on Friday, and it provided dinner for Saturday and lunch for Sunday too!
Sunday: Black Bean Quesadillas (didn't get made last week, so it's back on the menu this time)
Monday: Roasted Chicken** & potatoes (see recipe for slow-roasted pastured chicken below)
Tuesday: Crockpot Chuck Roast Supreme! This is by far one of our favorite (and easiest) recipes! I saved money by using the dry black beans that I cooked in the crockpot to make the Black Bean Quesadilla's above. I saved time by making a double batch. I'll use the second half of the batch to put in this dish on Tuesday night.
Wednesday: BBQ Chicken Pizza (with leftover chicken from last week and any leftover chicken from Monday, a little caramelized red onion, BBQ sauce, and mozzarella)
Thursday: Fettuccine & roasted cauliflower
Friday: L.O. (the chuck roast feeds us for four meals. I'm expecting enough left overs to make it through Saturday)
Slow-Roasted Pastured Chicken
If you've never had a pastured chicken, you have to try it. You won't find them at the grocery store. You'll have to go to a farm. If you're an NC friend, check out Ray Family Farms. They raise pastured poultry, hogs, and cows. My Texas friends can find pastured chickens at Gramen Farm or the Houston Farmers Market. They also sell them at Whole Foods, but I don't know much about the source. If you're not in NC or Houston, go to www.localharvest,org to find farms in your area.
Anyhow, the trick with pastured chicken is that if it's cooked the standard way it tends to be tougher than a regular grocery store bird. The solution is slow-roasting, and I promise you that you won't regret it. The end result is fall off the bone delicious chicken! It's also a very frugal way to use your chicken which I'll tell you more about soon.
Here's the recipe:
- 1 whole chicken
- Veggies for roasting (potatoes, sweet potatoes, radishes, turnips, rutabaga, squash, and onion are good for this purpose...don't use things like broccoli or other greens)
- 1.5 tsp salt* (*I really don't know the actual amount I use. I just sprinkle it all over the bird)
- 6 turns black pepper (6 turns of the pepper grinder...again, I'm not a precise cook)
- 1 stick o' butter (Just call me Paula Dean. You can get away with 3/4 of stick...but that's just no fun)
- 1/2 cup chicken broth or water (or 1/4 cup white wine)
- Any other spices you like (optional)
Cut up your veggies into bite sized pieces. The best combo I ever made was potatoes, onion and squash. Throw all the veggies into a dutch oven or a baking dish. Pour the chicken broth or water in over the veggies. Cut a few half-inch pats of butter from your stick o' butter and thrown them on top of the veggies.
Put the rest of the butter (about half a stick) in a small sauce pan to melt (don't use the microwave). Once the butter is melted, put the chicken (breast side up) into the dutch oven on top of the veggies. Pour the melted butter over the bird, making sure to cover all of the skin. Then sprinkle your salt and pepper all over the bird. If you like other spices, sprinkle those on too. Thyme, basil, paprika, etc are great choices. You could even do cumin and chili powder if you wanted a more tex mex taste. It's up to you! It tastes great to me with just plain ole salt and pepper though.
Put the lid on your dutch oven (or cover the baking dish with foil, making sure the foil is not touching the bird). Cook the bird at 275 degrees for 3 hours. Then remove the lid and bake for another 30-45 min at 375 or 400 degrees depending on your oven until internal temperature reaches 165 degrees and the skin is golden brown. We bake at 400 degrees and get that nice rotisserie chicken look after 30 min (it actually gets even darker than the picture below. This is from many months ago, but it's the only pic I had).
We eat this roasted chicken almost every Sunday. To change the flavor profile you can also add some white wine into the baking dish. You could squeeze a lemon in and put the squeezed halves inside the bird's cavity while cooking. Try zesting the peel over the chicken for an extra zing. The skies' the limit!
I plan to post later this week about how making chicken this way can really save you money. Stay tuned!
