A Whole Roast Chicken

Many times in my life, I've opened a recipe link and been frustrated at the amount of scrolling I had to do to get to the actual recipe. I never set out to be a recipe blogger, and I'm certainly not claiming to be a chef, but here I am sharing my favorite recipes. Still, I'm a writer first, and so I do have some words to share before the food. If you scroll past this to just get to the recipe, no hard feelings.

I am a lover of sales and of creating meals that stretch my cooking skills, so when I saw whole chickens marked down at Aldi, I knew what I had to do. I scoured Pinterest, weeding through several whole roast chicken recipes and combining my favorite parts of each to form this recipe.

The first time I made it, my husband talked for the rest of the night about how flavorful and juicy the chicken was. He took leftovers to work the next day. This was the gold star I needed to proceed to tell all of my friends and family about my newfound love: the whole roast chicken. I have run out of friends and family to tell, and so now I am telling you. This meal is ridiculously simple and will make you feel like an incredible cook. Pinky promise.

Mmmkay, the recipe:

Whole Roast Chicken

Serves 4-6, dependent on how much your husband likes your cooking.

Ingredients:

• One whole chicken (4-7lbs)

• Olive oil, measure with the heart

• One whole lemon

• A few sprigs of thyme, or whatever fresh herbs you have on hand

• 4-5 garlic cloves

• Assorted veggies, this changes for me each time I make it. I just use whatever we have on hand. Always potatoes and onion, and some combination of carrots, green beans, broccoli, radishes (my favorite), beets.

• Salt, pepper, and smoked paprika. I do smoked paprika only because Tieghan Gerard says so, and she's the boss of my kitchen.

Instructions:

1. You'll want to be sure to pull the chicken out the morning you plan to cook it so that it can get to room temperature before roasting. If it's frozen, pull it out the night before.

2. Preheat oven to 350F.

3. Chop all of your veggies, rustically. This is cooking code for don't worry about it looking pretty. Save the knife skills for another dish.

4. Drizzle olive oil over the bottom of a 9x11 cast iron pan, or whatever you have. How much? Ehh, just enough. Trust your gut.

5. Toss the veggies in the olive oil with salt and pepper, then spread to the edges of the pan, leaving a space in the center for the chicken.

6. Onto the chicken. Remove neck and giblets if necessary. Pat dry with paper towels.

7. Rub olive oil all over the outside and inside of the chicken. Cover with a good amount of salt, pepper, and smoked paprika.

8. Place the chicken in the center of the pan. Stuff the cavity with the lemon, cut in half, and your fresh herbs.

9. Bake uncovered at 350F, 20 minutes per pound of chicken. You'll know it's done when you can cut between the breast and thigh and the juice runs clear. I don't use a meat thermometer, but you can do that too.

Note: If the skin starts to look a little too golden for your taste, you can cover for the remainder of the cook time.

10. Let rest for a little while before carving. In our house, it usually rests about five minutes before the smell has us so hungry that we just can't wait. Carve and serve over the veggies.

11. I like to eliminate waste as much as possible, so I'll save the carcass and any veggie scraps to make a broth overnight. If you have leftovers, they make for a phenomenal chicken pot pie the next day.

With my whole heart, I hope you loved this as much as I do. Feel free to let me know.