Oven Roasted Chicken - (Dinner, Day 1)

Let me preface this by saying I have never, never, ever, ever cooked a whole chicken in the oven. I cooked one in a crockpot- once. That's it. Needless to say the task was daunting but I wanted to try it. So, I scoured the internet and found the easiest recipe possible and then modified it to make it even easier. This is the basics of the recipe:

Ingredients:

Large lemon (1), fresh thyme (around 20 sprigs), whole garlic (1), kosher salt (to taste), pepper (to taste), butter (2-3 tbsp), and a yellow onion



(oh, yeah a chicken- mine was around 5 pounds)

The Method to the Madness:

(Heat oven to 425 degrees- I know, trust me)

1. Pull all of the yucky stuff from the inside of the chicken.

2. Slice onions into large rings. Slice garlic and lemon in half.

3. Line the bottom of the pot with onions and a few sprigs of thyme.

4. Sprinkle salt and pepper into the chicken.

5. Stuff chicken with lemon halves, garlic halves, and the rest of the thyme.

6. Melt butter and rub on chicken.

7. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper.

8. Cover chicken and put into the oven.

9. Drink a margarita and wait about 1 1/2 hours for the chicken to reach perfection.

10. Chicken is done. (Internal temperature should be 185 degrees. However, since I'm an overachiever I let mine get to 190 degrees.)

The chicken fell off the bone as I tried to carve it! Oh, and that sweet, sweet lemony garlic aroma is worth every minute of it.
I served this with garlic potatoes and green beans. You can find both recipes under sides on this blog.