A Family Favorite...Roast Chicken

This has to be one of my family's all time favorite meals...roast chicken and mashed potatoes. It's a guarantee every time that everyone's tummy and soul will be filled with good food and love ~ the most important ingredient you can use in cooking!

There are no measurements needed for this dish.

Pre-heat an oven to 375 degrees.

Slice an onion into thick rings and create a bed in roasting pan. I like to use a Pampered Chef Rectangular Baker (which are on sale in October) because it browns beautifully. Place a 4 - 5 pound chicken on top of the onions, breast side down. Rub Garlic Grapeseed Oil on it and then sprinkle with Rodeo Rub, CA Garlic Pepper and Hearty Spaghetti Blend. Next, peel and slice some veggies such as carrots, parsnips or rutabagas. Place them around the chicken, drizzle them with Garlic Grapeseed Oil and sprinkle with sea salt. Cook the chicken for 45 minutes and then flip it over, re-season the breast side with oil and herbs just as you did before and place back in the oven for about 15 minutes. Then turn the oven down to 350 and continue cooking until the chicken is beautifully browned and the meat is done. It takes about 30 minutes per pound to roast a chicken. Let the chicken rest for at least 20 minutes before carving it.

Serve with Onion Chive mashed potatoes, butternut squash roasted with garlic grapeseed oil and sea salt, and Wildtree's Apple Cranberry Jelly.

Additional Recipes

Onion Chive Mashed Potatoes

Peel and quarter a couple pounds of Yukon Gold potatoes. Cook them in salted, boiling water until fork tender. Drain and return to pan. Add butter, milk, Wildtree's Onion & Chive Blend and mash until smooth and creamy. I use rice milk and vegan butter. 

Roasted Butternut Squash

Peel, seed and cut a butternut squash into large bite size pieces. Toss them with Wildtree's Roasted Garlic Grapeseed Oil and sea salt and spread in a single layer on a roasting pan. I prefer to use Pampered Chef's Large Bar Pan for premium caramelization! Place in the oven with the chicken for about 45 minutes to an hour or until the squash is soft and starting to brown.

Cook's Note

To make life simpler, you can roast the chicken entirely right side up from the beginning and skip the flipping part.

Dinner Plans Gone Awry

I had the best of intentions to roast a chicken for dinner tonight...but the fun we were having with friends down on the ferry dock took precedence and dinner plans were scrapped.

It would have been the perfect night to head to the island's only dinner restaurant (a delicious pizza joint) but sadly they do not serve gluten free, dairy free options so it was back to the kitchen to come up with another plan.

It would have also been a great night to eat breakfast for dinner - an old favorite of ours. But we are egg free and had eaten our share of pancakes earlier in the day.

I could feel the Jeckyl/Hyde switch happening in my son...he becomes a beast when he's hungry (just like his mama)! I had to think quick...there were not many options...but there were a few things in the fridge and I managed to scrap together a tasty dinner.

I picked some fresh Lebanese squash (see picture above) and diced it, sliced some onion, and cut up a chicken breast. I heated a cast iron skillet (one of my favorite pans to cook in) over medium heat with Wildtree's Garlic Grapeseed Oil, added all the ingredients to the pan and liberally sprinkled them with Wildtree's Italian Salad Dressing Mix (a dry blend) and a dash of apple cider vinegar. I let them cook til they were soft and brown and a crust was forming in the pan - the tastiest tidbits around! Served it over mashed potatoes that were leftover from another night (always make extra mashed potatoes!).

Wildtree did it again - a tasty meal in minutes!