Roast Your Own Damn Chicken

If you are tired of paying $10.00+ for two chicken breasts, or tired of just chicken breast in general, roasting your own chicken can be a good way to save money, add in some variety, and cook enough for a few meals all at once. ( or enough for a family, i’m single though so this was around 4 meals for me. ) A whole chicken only cost me $9.33 and it is the perfect time of year to roast up some delicious root veggies with it so everything is done all at once. If you want to go the extra mile you can even use the carcass to make chicken stock. If that is getting too Martha Stewart for you, thats okay you can skip it. Or hell, if you don’t want to cook and have all the money, buy all this shit from whole foods. Why are you still reading this?

Ingredients:

1 whole chicken

Carrots ( it depends on the size but I used 3 )

Turnips ( I only used one )

Rutabaga ( I used half of a massive one )

Parsnips ( I used two, but kinda wish I used 3 )

1/2 yellow onion

4 whole garlic cloves

Avocado or Olive Oil

Salt and Pepper

Compound Ghee

1/4 cup ghee ( you can use butter, all I had was ghee but ghee is also a great choice as it doesn’t burn during the roasting process, and it is lactose free )

Fresh herbs: Rosemary, Thyme, Sage

1/2 tsp. Salt

STEP ONE

Peel and dice veggies ( didn’t peel the carrots though) Keep them all relatively the same size. I did a large dice so that they didn’t cook too quickly as the chicken takes about an hour in the oven. Remove the skin from the garlic cloves and throw them in whole with the veggies. ( roasted garlic is sweet and delicious but also gives off an amazing aroma ).

Toss the veggies with a little bit of oil and season well with salt and pepper. You don’t need a whole lot of oil because the ghee and drippings from the chicken will melt and drop down and coat the veggies.

STEP TWO

Place 1/4 cup of ghee in a small cup or bowl, and finely chop fresh herbs.

Mix the herbs and salt into the ghee and mix well with a fork. I just took the ghee and rolled it out on my cutting board to form a log, and then cut it into smaller pieces to stick under the skin of the chicken.

Now you will want to stick your fingers under the skin of the chicken breast to separate it so there is room for the ghee. This will feel very naughty. Embrace it.

As you can see, the ghee is nicely placed underneath the skin. This will keep the breast nice and moist. Now drizzle a little oil all over the bird and season generously with salt and pepper and extra herbs if you wish.

Place in the oven at 375 Degrees Fahrenheit for 30 minutes. Rotate chicken at 30 minutes and let cook for about another 30. You will want a meat thermometer for this so that you don’t over or undercook your bird. Pull the chicken from the oven when it reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees F.

Dinner is served.

All done! It’s pretty straightforward. You can’t really mess it up, but if you do that’s okay. You will get it next time!

Gluten Free Meatballs

I like my balls gluten free. Unfortunately gluten doesn’t settle too well with me. I know, I am one of those crazy persons who thinks gluten is the devil. I truly don’t, I just feel better when I avoid gluten and dairy. You may have noticed all of my recipes are gluten and dairy free. This isn’t to say they will always be because sometimes it is worth the stomach ache. But for now, enjoy my balls.

Ingredients

• 2 lbs ground beef

• 3 tsp. salt

• 1 tsp. pepper

• 2 tsp. dried thyme

• 2 tsp. dried basil

• 2 tsp. oregano

• 3 cloves garlic, minced

• 3 eggs

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

• Place all ingredients together in a large mixing bowl.

• Mix together well until the meat comes together enough to form into balls. ( Might take a bit for the meat to absorb all of the egg. Keep mixing ).

• Form into golf ball sized balls and place on sheet pan.

• Place in oven for about 10-15 minutes.

These pair well with spaghetti squash and the easy tomato sauce recipe.

Easy Homemade Tomato Sauce

Sometimes it can be hard to find pre-made tomato sauce without there being sugar or other questionable ingredients in it. The good news is that it is actually pretty easy to make yourself. Everyone should try homemade at least once.

Ingredients

• Few springs of fresh rosemary, minced

• Few springs of fresh thyme, minced

• 3 cloves of garlic, minced

• 1 onion, diced

• 1 bunch of fresh basil, chopped

• 1 jar of crushed tomatoes

• 1 jar of whole peeled tomatoes

• 1 tsp. smoked paprika

• 1 tsp. red pepper flakes

• olive oil

• salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Heat pan over medium high heat.

Add olive oil to the pan.

Add diced onion and stir. Sautee until translucent.

Add rosemary, thyme, and garlic. Stir and then add smoked paprika and red pepper flakes.

Saute for about a minute and then add in your jars of tomato and chopped basil. 

Salt and pepper to taste.

Let simmer on low heat covered for about 15 minutes.

Adjust seasoning to taste and enjoy!