Roasted Chicken

Oh my heavens, this was fantastic! I wished I'd made two or three at once so we'd have all that yummy roasted chicken meat.

Roasted Chicken
3-4 lb. roasting chicken
2 tablespoons fresh herbs (I used a container from the produce section at Wal-Mart that was called "Poultry Seasoning" and contained rosemary, sage, and thyme. It was perfect for one chicken.)
1 tablespoon coarse salt
1 tablespoon cracked black pepper (I only used a 1/2 tablespoon because I don't love pepper.)
2-3 tablespoons vegetable and/or olive oil (The recipe called for canola, but I didn't have canola oil.)
1 lemon
1/2 an onion
3-4 cloves of garlic

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Rinse and dry the chicken. (Make sure you check the insides in case you forgot to buy the chicken without neck and giblets. Blech!) Chop the lemon in half and stuff it in the chicken along with the onion and garlic. You won't be eating these so they don't have to be chopped. Mix the herbs, salt, pepper, and oil in a bowl and rub all over the chicken. Be sure to get in all the little nooks and crannies. Place on a cookie sheet breast side up. (I always have to ask Brad which side is the breast side because I can't tell on a chicken. He told me to look for the tail part on the backside and that should go down on the pan. The tail is the little flap on the back and I think it's easier to identify.) Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes. (It'll start spitting and browning pretty early, but that's normal so don't freak out. Also, this makes a mess in your oven! I wonder if putting in a roasting pan would work, thus keeping it from splattering all over the oven, but I'm worried it wouldn't brown up all nice and pretty with that crispy, yummy crust.) Let sit for 15 minutes before slicing. This is very important! It will make your chicken uber moist and delicious! DO NOT SKIP THIS STEP! Slice the chicken and try not to make it look like you cut it up with a lawnmower.

Family Rating:
Brad: *****
Jordan: *****
Eli: *****
Phoebe: *****
Overall Family Rating: 20/20