Roasted Chicken and Veggies

I have a black and white roasting pan, the "cow" roaster, that I bought for four dollars at Gabe's. It was the best four dollars I've ever spent at that store. If you don't have a covered roasting pan, just put your chicken and veggies in a cooking bag to seal in the moisture.

Ingredients

Whole chicken, whatever size you want
Root veggies (these roast the best, as others tend to dissolve with extended cooking)
I use
-- one bag of baby carrots
--2 medium to large onions, peeled and cut in 4-6 wedges

1 lemon

Seasonings--depending on what you're in the mood for, you can use any of the following:

Thyme (Fresh, stuffed under the skin, is nice for these first two herbs)
Rosemary
Curry Powder (I really coat the chicken with the curry)


Preheat oven to 375 degrees

Remove the giblets bag and rinse your chicken. Pat dry, and place in your roaster (if using a bag, sit it on a cutting board (one that can be easily sterilized) or on a piece of parchment). Season liberally, inside and out, with salt and pepper (if desired) and any other seasonings you are using.

Cut the lemon up in pieces and place inside the cavity. You may also tuck some slices under the skin. The object is to allow the lemon to flavor the chicken.

Place a few of the onion wedges in the chicken cavity, and then put the rest in the roasting pan (or bag). Place all the carrots in the pan (or bag), then put the chicken on top (no need to truss). Add 1/2 - 1 cup of water to the roasting pan and cover. (You will only need 1/4 cup water in a cooking bag.)

Place roasting pan in oven and roast for 15-20 minutes per pound, or until internal temperature reaches 175 degrees. If using a chicken with a pop-up timer, go with that.

If you seasoned with curry power, this is great with baked sweet potatoes and and Tandoori Nan bread (available at Wal-Mart in the bakery).

Providing there are any, process until smooth any leftover broth and veggies and use to make chicken soup with the leftover chicken. Just add some egg noodles to the broth and simmer until done. Yum!