Winner, winner Chicken Dinner!

I've posted for recipes on here about my using my "Sunday Special roasted chicken that my grocery sells for 4.99". Now I realize...BIG WHOOP!

When my store has whole chickens on sale for 49 cents a pound. This chicken was 2.49! Divide THAT for 2 dinners for 2 people and my roasted chicken for dinner is 62 cents per serving instead of $1.24. I am seriously getting a freezer for the basement now! Stocking UP!

Then I was making something yummy that needed lots of lemons.....they are zested and all juiced. How oh How can I still utilize these fragrant lemons.....? How about....

Lemon Herb Chicken

1 whole chicken (check for bag of "innards" and a neck in its cavity)
5-10 whole garlic cloves, peeled (how garlicky do you want it?)
4-6 lemon halves (they can be zested and juiced)
preferred herb mix (italian, herbes de provence, Mrs. Dash, etc)
salt and pepper to taste
canola or olive oil for rubbing

Preheat your oven to 325 degrees.

Rinse and blot dry your chicken.

Use a 11 X 7 baking dish instead of a 13X9 (if you can). I like how 'secure' my chicken is in the pan rather sliding all around in the TOO large 13X9. But use what you have!
Rub your chicken with "used" lemons. (I had a recipe that needed lots of zest and juice and I wanted to utilize these) Put half of the garlic inside your chicken. Slide some of the cloves underneath the skin where the hip joints are. Put some garlic in the neck cavity. Anywhere, everywhere! Put the lemon halves inside the hollow cavity and a few underneath your chicken.
Rub your chicken with oil and lightly salt and pepper. Cover with herbs of choice (use fresh if you have them, mine are covered with snow) until heavily coated. Tie your chicken legs together with twine.

If chicken is cold let sit for 1/2 hour on counter so the salt will permeate the skin and tenderize. Bake in 325 oven for 1 and 1/2 hours or until temperature registers 180 degrees in the leg meat.

Now for the fun part!!! Making parts instead of slicing like the T-day turkey!

You DO own a pair of sharp kitchen shears right? OXO are awesome, if you don't own a pair. Turn over your chicken and cut close to each side of the chicken backbone.

See my garlic inside?

Put a paper towel under your chicken to absorb grease and so it won't slide on you when you cut the next part.





If you want to use your shears again go ahead, now cut through the cavity in the middle of the breastbone. Or you can use a large chef's knife for this. Here you have 1/2 a chicken. I can't get over how some restaurants make this a dinner....too much for me!









Take your shears/scissors and cut the leg off from the breast at the thigh. Now you have two quarter chickens. One white meat and one dark meat. Perfect. I like white meat, K-man loves the dark. See how we are made for each other?











Quarter of a chicken is still too much for me. I cut off the wing and give it to K-man with his leg and thigh. I still can barely eat a chicken breast depending on the 'sides' I have.

I peel off my skin and slice my breast piece. K-man likes and wants the crunchy seasoned skin on his pieces.


So there you have it. Making your own roasted chicken is REALLY not that difficult. We pay SO MUCH for the convenience of some Perdue chicken part herbed and injected with chicken broth (and the breast is sliced in half, you know!). Once I paid attention to the price I was paying and the effort I am putting into it...on a weekend it's not a big deal. You could prep this on Sunday for a week night as well. It's awesome. TRY IT!

Enjoy!