September 8 Dinner - Roast Chicken w/Roasted Carrots, Potatoes and Steamed Broccoli

Roast Chicken w/Roasted Carrots, Potatoes and Steamed Broccoli

Ok. My first attempt at this was last week, and it was pretty good. Tonight, it was AMAZING!

**Thank you Andrea for giving me the confidence and introducing me to roasting chickens!**

Roast Chicken w/Roasted Carrots, Potatoes and Steamed Broccoli
4-5 pound fryer chicken
3 large red potatoes
1/2 bag baby carrots (or 3 large carrots, peeled and sliced)
oil
garlic powder
onion powder
1 lemon cut into 3 pieces
1 lime cut into 4 pieces
1/2 an onion sliced
salt
pepper
2 bunches broccoli

Preheat oven to 350. Scrub and rinse potatoes. Cut potatoes into small pieces (about 1-1/2 in). Place potatos and carrots in a roasting pan (or dark 9 x 13 baking pan). Mix potatoes and carrots with 1-2 tablespoons oil and S&P. Make sure they are coated well.

Prepare your chicken. Remove giblets and other parts (usually in a bag stuffed in the chicken. Mine were not today, GROSS!) Throw them away, or you can keep them for gravy (if you like that kind of stuff in your gravy. I throw mine away.) Rinse chicken and pat dry with a paper towel. Stuff with your lemon, lime and onion. Place chicken in the baking pan in the middle of the veggies. Drizzle with oil. Sprinkle S&P, garlic powder and onion powder over the chicken. Put the pan in the oven. Cook it for about 20 minutes per pound (for a 4-5 pound chicken, I cook it about 1 hour and 45 minutes). Every 40 minutes or so, I check on it and try to pour some of the juices back on it. (**You will know it is ready when the internal temperature, not touching bone, reaches 180 degrees, and juices run clear.**)

About 20 minutes before the chicken is done, place the broccoli in your steamer and let it steam. The color should still be bright green, but you should be able to easily pierce it with a fork.

When the chicken is finished cooking, put the potatoes and carrots into a bowl. Move the chicken onto a cutting board and let it sit for abuot 15 minutes before carving it. Pour the juices from the chicken into a small pot. Mix some cornstarch with cold water until it's smooth. Whisk the cornstarch mixture into the chicken juices and bring the pot to a boil. Remove from heat a stir. (You can add water or broth if it's too thick, or more cornstarch if it's too thin.)

Mmmmm! It was soooo good! However, we weren't thrilled with the gravy. It was good, just missing something. If anyone has any ideas on what I can add to make it better, let me know!

Enjoy!

Love,

Sarah