Roast Chicken: My Most Request Recipe, My Easiest Recipe, and My Favorite DC Dinners

Roast chicken is probably the easiest thing in the world to make. 

Seriously. It's so simple, it almost embarrasses me that people are so impressed with my roast chicken. It's not impressive. It's chicken.

The best chicken you'll ever eat, and I am being 100% honest there. But still, just chicken.

I came across this article online that was talking about how America is taught we are too stupid to cook. Which, hey, true. We are taught that. Even I- clutz in the kitchen- can cook. And it's just because I try. I never thought I could growing up because I was pretty much told I couldn't by marketing of food companies wanting to promote mixes, meals made fast, faster, fastest, and microwavable dinners.

Don't get me wrong, I love love love a good short cut/cake mix/simple fix. But some of these things are discounting the real simplicity of recipes. Like roast chicken. Recipe below.

This is taken as an excerpt from the very interesting article found here:

"The World’s Most Difficult Roasted Chicken Recipe

Turn your oven on high (450 if you have ventilation, 425 if not).  Coat a 3- or 4-pound chicken with coarse kosher salt so that you have an appealing crust of salt (a tablespoon or so).  Put the chicken in a pan, stick a lemon or some onion or any fruit or vegetable you have on hand into the cavity.  Put the chickn in the oven.  Go away for an hour.  Watch some TV, play with the kids, read, have a cocktail, have sex.  When an hour has passed, take the chicken out of the oven and put it on the stove top or on a trivet for 15 more minutes.  Finito.

(But be careful, you might find this so boring that you’ll start thinking about making stock next.  Don’t. Too hard.  Takes too long.  You’ll have to clean the pot.  I’m telling you now.  Don’t risk it.  Consider yourself warned.  Don’t blame me if you wind up with something delicious on your hands.)"

Ha, and that's all there really is to it! I always use a lemon because I am a sucker for lemon chicken. I also always ALWAYS poke holes all over the surface of said lemon/fruit/garlic. That way, the juices steam out and seep into the bird. Yum. If the chicken is big enough, I do combinations like that, lemon and garlic, lemon and lime, lemon and apple, lemon and onion, etc. Usually though, I'll just do one lemon or two if I am working with a big bird. 

Just envisioned working with Big Bird. Totally not what I meant.

I coat my chickens with just the salt I have (not necessarily sea salt) and then I go a step further and always smother the SOB in spices. SMOTHER. I love seasoned chicken and spices add kick, flavor, and a crust. Yum. My favorite combinations: Rosemary Infused Salt/Lemon Herb and Oregano; Lemon Infused Salt/Cajun Seasonings; Salt/ Lemon Herb & Cajun Seasonings; Salt/ Lemon Herb, Packet of Italian Dressing Mix; Rosemary Infused Salt/ Oregano, Basil, Thyme, and Rosemary. 

I also always squeeze the roasted lemon so the juices pour all over my chicken once it's done resting for 15 minutes. Guh, it's life changing. 

Make this chicken. It's spectacular, simple, and pretty healthful. Your family and friends will be amazed and you alone will know how easy it was :)

My Nana's Chicken & Rice

This is an old recipe I am revamping with better pics and putting up here for you guys because it is SO amazing and SO underrated.

This dish is flavorful, creamy, and rich. It warms you with every bite and makes you ready for a cozy nap when the meal is finished.

This is another dish that my dad's mom made for him and then my mom made for us. It brings me right back to my childhood. Winter nights and taking homework breaks for dinner with the family. This meal plus some broccoli and a roll is pretty much bliss.

I made it for my roomie and friends with great results. Hope your family enjoys it as well :)


FYI- next week I will be posting pics from a Star Wars themed feast I made for a dear friends birthday. You guys should prepare yourselves now for the amount of crazy geekiness that is coming your way.

Chicken & Rice

-3 large chicken breasts

-1 stick butter

-1 cup regular rice

-1 can cream of chicken soup

-1 can cream of celery soup

-1 cup milk

-1 package dry onion soup mix

Line a 9 by 13 pan with foil. Slice 1 stick butter into cubes on bottom of the pan. Pour 1 cup regular rice over butter. Cut breasts into vertical halves. Place 6 half breasts on top of rice. Cover with soups, smearing over chicken, and sprinkle with dry soup mix. Pour milk over entire pan. Cover with foil, sealing tight. Bake at 350 for 2 hours. Remove from oven, carefully (STEAM BURNS!), open foil top. Remove chicken breasts, set aside. Mix rice WELL until creamy. Serve with the chicken (at side as pictured) OR cut up chicken breasts and mix back into the rice casserole and then serve. 

Spicy Wing Dip

Perhaps not the most appeal image ever...

It got attacked though. I couldn't take the shot fast enough!

But if you like buffalo wings, this dip is amazing. Seems appropriate with the Super Bowl fast approaching to make a batch or three of chicken wing dip. With some celery stalks, (healthy and delicious!),  or chips to dip into this, I am sure it would be a hit at any bowl-gathering! My aunt made two double batches in 9 by 13 pans of it for family Christmas and it was still gone before all the other food at the feast. 

For me, I love buffalo wings with ranch dipping sauce but, seem to always stain myself and need to wash up after eating them. I like to think it's not because of my poor manners of eating but more because they are messy but, having a dip that tastes almost EXACTLY like chicken wings without the mess is phenomenal. 

Plus, 5 ingredients. Simple.

Spicy Chicken Wing Dip

-1 large can diced white chicken (or 2 small)

-1 8oz cream cheese

-1 small bottle Frank's Hot Sauce

-1 small bottle Ranch Dressing

-1 pckg mozzarella shredded cheese

Layer pie pan bottom with cream cheese, smooth. In bowl, mix chicken, ranch dressing, and hot sauce. Pour and smooth on top of cream cheese. Top with shredded cheese. Bake at 350 til melted and bubbly, (about 10 minutes).

The Amazing, Beautiful, Super Emily Shares Her Paella Secret

One of my all time favorite people made this Paella recipe for my family, boyfriend, and I when we were all on vacation together and, it completely blew everyone away.

I mean, there were about 10 of us, and she made a double batch, and I think there was maybe a single bowl left. And that's a LOT of Paella.

I was pretty much convinced I could never make this as well as she did. Pretty much convinced I could never make it, period. It is a lot of things cooking at once and, seemed overwhelming and scary.

But, I decided to be a brave little toaster. Even though Ms. Cougarlee has mad skillz that, I still didn't even touch on, this blog has taught me I can make and bake a lot more complex cooking then I thought I was capable of.

I mean... I'm certified disaster.

And yet! This was not a disaster. This was in fact, spectacular. I made it for my roommates and cousin to grand results. Several bowl fulls, lots of silent munching and "mmm"s. My cousin is "allergic" to shellfish so, I left them out of my batch but, if you make this recipe, I urge you to add the shrimp it calls for! I made it instead with double chicken. I'm not going to write it that way. I like the recipe with the shrimp so, I am going to write it as such.

If you don't want to put the shrimp in, then just double the chicken like I did and, I promise, it's delicious.

IT'S ALL DELICIOUS!

SO, in conclusion, Super thanks and appreciation to Ms. Emily for sending me this recipe. Her family makes it and uses this food network recipe by Rachel Ray, I adapted it as I am pretty sure she did, no mussles used, but pretty much it's the same. 

Thank you for introducing me to palate paradise of Paella. (Say that five times fast). 

Paella:

-3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil 

-3 cloves garlic, crushed

-1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

-2 cups enriched white rice

-1/4 teaspoon saffron threads

-1 bay leaf

-1 quart chicken broth or stock

-4 sprigs fresh thyme

-1 1/2 pounds chicken tenders, cut into thirds 

-Salt and freshly ground black pepper

-1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped

-1 medium onion, chopped

-3/4 pound chorizo, casing removed and sliced on an angle

-1 pound peeled and deveined large shrimp, 24 shrimp

-1 cup frozen peas

-2 lemons zested

Pick out a big, wide pan. Apparently there are such things as "Paella Pans" so if you have one, this is when you'd want to use it.  Have it preheated over medium high heat, then add 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, 2 turns of the pan, crushed garlic, red pepper flakes, add rice and saute 2 or 3 minutes. Add saffron threads, bay leaf, broth, and thyme and bring liquids to a boil over high heat. Cover the pan with lid (or foil for the lidless) and reduce heat to simmer.

In a separate nonstick skillet, over medium high heat brown chicken on both sides in 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, 1 turn of the pan. Season chicken with salt and pepper. Add peppers and onions to the pan and cook 3 minutes longer. Add chorizo to the pan (I opened mine from the casing so it was ground up and the flavors really steep into everything but, up to you) and cook 2 minutes more. Remove pan from heat.

After about 13 minutes, add shellfish to the rice pan, nesting them in cooking rice. Pour in peas, scatter lemon zest over the rice and seafood, then cover the pan again. After 5 minutes, remove cover or foil from the paella. Stir rice and seafood mixture and lift out bay and thyme stems, now bare of their leaves. I then mix everything up and then serve it as a big pot of delicious but, if that's not your scene, you can create a nice plate. Arrange cooked chicken and peppers, onions and chorizo around the pan. Serve and Enjoy :)

Chicken in a Garlic White Wine Sauce... & Promise it's a Cinch.

Midwest weather seriously just sucks in February.

Seriously. It's a blustery but sunny day one minute and then the next, it's freezing winds and torrential snow and you find yourself slipping on ice and snow constantly and soaked within moments of stepping outside the door.

Or at least, I find myself in that situation rather consistently.

On one such particular day this week, I got fed up with the chill completely and decided that I wanted a warm and delicious dinner to make me feel more cheered.

This dish was just the trick to make myself and my roommates feel the winter chill evaporate and the delicious flavor of garlic seep into our taste buds.

Garlic Chicken and Wine Sauce

-3 large chicken breasts, cut in 1/2

-1 bottle dry white wine

-1/3 cup milk

-1 head garlic
-Assorted Veggies (Or not) To taste (I used spinach, tomato, & mushrooms)

-Salt/Pepper

-Olive Oil

-Butter

-Breadcrumbs

Put deep pan on stove. Saute' garlic in butter. Roll chicken in bread crumbs, add to butter/garlic. Cook outsides slightly before adding remaining ingredients. Simmer on low heat for 45 minutes, stirring frequently. Serve over RICE.

Yes, I realize I took the picture served over pasta. Which is ALSO delicious. It's up to you, but I would go with rice because it soaks up the flavors much better. Either way, you'll enjoy it, promise :)