Lemon & Rosemary Roasted Chicken

This is my calendar for work in November.  Blue means travel.  There is a whole lot of blue going on .  Thank goodness for Thanksgiving.  It's the fourth line down on the calendar and there is no blue.  Of course we are traveling up to Maine for the holiday but this is welcomed travel...sort of.  At the very least it is a welcomed destination.

I am hitting up five states in these travels. And that does not include driving through or stopping for layover states.  I think I should do another calculation.

The point of all this is its going to be a very busy month.  All of that eating out will mean I am going to be make some pretty elaborate meals at home when I can.  To start the process off, I made roasted chicken this weekend.  I found a slow cooker recipe but you needed a rack.  As much as I love my Crock Pot, I don't see it as the magical roasting machine.  Thus, into the oven it went.

Lemon & Rosemary Roasted Chicken

Ingredients:
5-6lb whole chicken
1 fresh lemon
3 springs of fresh rosemary
olive oil
salt and pepper

1. Heat over to 375 degrees.
2.  Remove any inner chicken parts.
3.  Rise whole chicken with cold water and pat dry.
4. Cut up lemon into small wedges, about 8 pieces and place inside cavity with rosemary springs.
5. Place chicken in roasting pan.
6. Rub chicken with olive oil and season with salt and pepper to taste.
7. Place in oven and cook for about 1 hour and 30 minutes.  Internal temperature should be 180 degrees.

The prep time takes about 5 minutes in total.  The tricky part for me is planning this meal on a night when I am around for about 2 hours before dinner.  In our household that means a weekend meal.  As I mentioned in the cookie post, our oven was being funny Saturday during the four hour bake off.  When the time was up on the kitchen one side was reading about 20 degrees warmer than the other.  Since we were hungry and I have no patience, Mr. J began carving.  We ended up having to microwave the breast pieces about 30 seconds just to be safe.  So much for an elaborate dinner. 

Now that Halloween has come and gone my mind is on Thanksgiving. It's my favorite holiday. Although I already have the menu and grocery list planned out with my mom and I still exploring some new recipes.

What is your favorite side dish?



sweet potato casserole
Do you venture out with new recipes or stick with the known favorites?
our Thanksgiving menu never changes