Easiest Way to Roast a DELICIOUS Chicken

OK, I'll admit it, I have never been the greatest cook in the world.

But for the sake of my own health, and due to a lack of decent resto food in Boston (Montreal food is AMAZING, even the cheap stuff, but that's another story), I have been trying recipes I never dared try before.

And here is a VERY VERY EASY one, that will provide multiple meals. (well, for a family of four, maybe only one or two...) Takes about 10 minutes to prep. That's IT!!!

How to Bake a Chicken.

Buy a decent chicken, fresh, maybe organic, or something like "all natural" etc. 5 pounds or so.

Preheat oven to about 400 degrees (just turn it on, it will be plenty hot in a few minutes). Prepare a pan for the chicken by buttering the bottom just a tad. I have used a square pan and a rectangular pan. Oval is fine too. Just not too huge, a bit bigger than the chicken.

Protect your counter surface with a piece of foil or plastic, or just clean it very well after this prep (to avoid chicken factory bacteria).

Take chicken out of the plastic wrapper. Remove the innards. These should be in a plastic or paper bag. Just reach inside the cavity and remove them. You can chop these up and cook them for your cat or yourself, or use them in some other dish, freeze them or throw them away. It's up to you.

Rinse the chicken, inside and out. Some folks say don't bother, but I do.

Pat down with a paper towel. Take a chunk of butter, about one tablespoon. Mush it up in your hands if a bit cool. Smear it all over the chicken skin. This will help ensure a nice crispy delicious skin.

Take some pieces of garlic, and/or herbs, and push this under the skin of the breast, on the top of the chicken. Just poke it in between the skin and meat with your finger. You could also use onions, or pieces of lemon or orange, but I use garlic.

You should now be at about the 7 minute mark in preparation, but don't worry if you are at the 12 minute mark. You are almost done!

Take some thyme, or poultry seasoning, and some pepper, and season the outside of the chicken. Just sprinkle or smear this on top of the buttered bird. Do NOT salt the bird, not necessary--this can be done at the table.

Now cut up one lemon and half an orange. I usually peel these, more or less, unless they are organic. Smear some seasoning on the lemon and orange pieces, and stuff inside the cavity of the bird. Now tie the legs together with a piece of string or thread. This is probably not even necessary. I just do it because, I don't know, seems like a good idea, keep the meat moister?

Now loosely cover the top of the bird with aluminum foil and put it in the pan you have ready, and pop it in the oven.

Leave it for about 90 minutes, go read a book or work on your novel or practice your guitar or hang out with the kids. In about 90 minutes, come back and carefully spoon some of the juices in the bottom of the pan onto the top of the bird. Again, crispier skin. Put the bird back in the oven, loosely covered with foil, for about 45 minutes. At this point, you could throw in a couple of peeled potatoes on the side of the bird, or a couple of unpeeled potatoes, on the oven rack, pierced with a fork on top.

After 45 minutes, remove the foil and leave the bird in the oven about 15 more minutes to crisp up the skin. You could throw in some small pieces of sliced carrot at this point, around the bird, if you like.

Take it out after 15-20 minutes, turn the oven off, and let it sit for about 15 minutes before serving. This way the juices get back into the meat rather than pouring out when you slice the chicken.

Your chicken will be REALLY juicy, have a lighter taste due to the lemon/orange flavor, and you will have a WONDERFUL "gravy" in the bottom of the pan, with a nice light citron-y flavor.

I usually save the bones (throw away the orange/lemon "stuffing") and make a fantastic chicken broth, with an onion, a carrot, garlic and herbs (drain after cooking for about 90 minutes or so). I also remove all the left-over meat (after the first meal) and freeze it to use in other dishes over the next week or so.

Now, wasn't that just amazingly EASY? And it tastes a million times better than plain old chicken breast, or slice deli meat.

Very Simple DELICIOUS Potato-Chicken-Veggie Casserole

OMG I made the BEST casserole a couple days ago, for the first time in a loonnngg time. And it was absolutely delicious and very simple. Just thinking of it, I wish I had leftovers.

You need (per person): one baked potato, sliced and just slightly underdone; half small zucchini, sliced; some broccoli, chopped up; any other veggies you would like to add--sauteed mushrooms, chopped greens, string beans, used your imagination and palate; one smallish onion, finely chopped; 4 oz turkey or chicken, coarsely chopped (can be deli chicken or leftover from baked/grilled chicken or turkey); one tablespoon butter; a few cloves of garlic, pressed; thyme; black pepper; about 1 or 2 oz cheese, grated--can be sharp cheddar, robusto (a WONDERFUL cheese, and you only need a little for flavor), emmenthal, whatever you like, mix and match; and Ian's Panko bread crumbs (couple tablespoons). Also you will need about 1 cup of hot milk, or half milk, half water, and a tablespoon or so of flour--can be rice or wheat.

You can chop all your ingredients first, so everything is ready to be put together quickly. And pre-heat the oven to about 350 degrees. Butter a small square or loaf pan (I used a glass 8 inch square pan).

Make a white sauce by sauteing the onion in a tablespoon of butter until it is slightly browned. Add the garlic, thyme and black pepper. Sprinkle the flour on this onion mixture, brown slightly, and add the hot milk a bit at a time, stirring until milk/onion/butter mixture thickens, not too thick, but creamy is best.

OK, that's IT!!!!

Now, just lay a layer of sliced potato (I cut the potato in half lengthwise and then sliced it thinly), throw on some zucchini and chicken or turkey, then spoon on a bit of the white sauce, then some cheese. Repeat this, with other veggies in place of zucchini, a couple more times.

Last layer will be a bit of cheese, and the couple tablespoons of Ian's Panko breadcrumbs sprinkled on top.

Cover pan with foil and bake for about 20-25 minutes, or until you see everything bubbling. At this point, remove the foil and let the breadcrumbs brown under the broiler for JUST A FEW MINUTES!!! Don't burn them!!!

Remove from oven and let sit a few minutes. You can serve this with a salad, or absolutely nothing. It is nourishing and SO SO DELICIOUS!!!! Hmm hmm hmm!