Monday Munchies...Roasted Chicken with Vegetables

So it might surprise you when I say that, I'm afraid to cook and bake! Yes, I do did it all the time, and some of the things I bake and/or cook are pretty impressive if I do say so myself...anyway....I don't typically stray from my norm, even though all the #foodporn posts all over social media have me wanting to brush the dust off my cookbooks and go back to cooking eight course meals again. But then I think of all the dishes I'd have to do, no thanks!  However, this past weekend when our friends came for Shabbos, I was in desperate need of a new, healthy, but filling, low-fuss chicken.  As usual, I texted my go-to friend and she gave me this wonderful recipe to Roasted Chicken with Veggies.   I think I'm way behind the times with this one because I mentioned how delicious it was to my sister-in-law yesterday on our playdate at the park, and she said, we make that all the time.  Maybe, just maybe, I'm not the last one to have heard of this! 

What's awesome about this recipe is that the prep is minimal, it's a one panner (as my 4 year old would say-just like twix is a two barrer...mmm...twix...)  and it tastes so moist and delicious, the chicken, not the twix! I'm tossing around the idea of making 2 at a time just to have one for myself for protein backup! You can change up the spices and the veggies to your liking, so this can really be customized and kept interesting.  

Some veggie suggestions are:

Carrots

Turnips

Parsnips

Zuccini 

Beets

 Cauliflower 

Cabbage 

Potatoes 

Squash 

Sweet Potatoes 

Can you think of anything else?

Roasted Chicken with Vegetables 

1 rotisserie or broiler chicken (not cut)

All the veggies! 

Olive oil 

The spices of your choice 

I bought my chicken from the local store, but I've been told that Costco has smaller, cheaper chickens that are flash frozen.  I think I'm going to go that route from now on because it's not always convenient for me to pick up a chicken, and this week I ended up freezing it because I can't make it until Thursday. 

Line your pan with parchment paper.

Prepare your vegetables, toss with olive oil and spices.  I stuck with my go-to: salt, pepper, and garlic.  I also added in whole cloves are garlic. 

Place your chicken(s) on top of the prepared veggies, coat with olive oil.  I spiced my chicken with salt, pepper, garlic and rosemary.  There are several variations of spicing, and a few I'm thinking of are a lemon pepper, or a spicy Cajun.

If you use root vegetables, pour 1/2 cup of water on the bottom of the pan.  I was given the wonderful advice that if you use potatoes, boil them a little first in a pot on the stove.  Surprisingly, I forgot to add the water to bottom of my pan, and after cooking-some of my vegetables still had a crunch!  Thankfully, because of this trick, the potatoes weren't one of them! 

Roast, at 350, for 3 hours, or until chicken juice runs clear.  

Because the cook time is long, I had no choice but to make this in advance. I'm happy to report that it reheated extremely well! I covered it with foil and reheated on 300-350 for about an hour.  I think that helped cook my still crunchy vegetables, but everything remained moist!  

This recipe got rave reviews by all of my guests, and I haven't stopped thinking about it since.  I can't wait to make this again very soon! 

What variations on spicing the chicken do you suggest?