Lemon Garlic Roast Chicken

I cannot tell you how terrifying it was for me to cook an entire chicken.  I mean seriously, a whole chicken?? How could I not mess that up somehow? Well, as usual, my panicking was for nothing. The steps were so simple and just like my pot roast, virtually fool-proof. Thanks to my new roasting pan from John's grandmother Mimi, I was all set and ready to roast! Read on for this amazingly delicious recipe.

Yet again I've drawn inspiration from Ina Garten, aka the Barefoot Contessa. This time I took the recipe from her show, which I've begun DVR'ing along with "Everyday Italian" hosted by Giada. John has literally fallen in love with this chicken. He's several times told me it's the best chicken ever. In fact, it's now 5 days after I made it and he is still talking about how juicy and wonderful the chicken was. Woo hoo for wife points! ;)  Hope your special someone enjoys it as much as we did.

Ingredients:
*5-6 pound whole chicken (daunting to buy but so worth it!)
*1 head of garlic
*1 lemon
*1 regular sized onion
*4 carrots
*4 potatoes
*salt and pepper
*butter

Preparation:
*Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

*Remove the giblets from the chicken. (Note: I was literally terrified of this process but it was quite effortless and not nearly as gross as I expected. Thank you Perdue perfect roasting chicken!) Salt the outside of the chicken, and salt and pepper the inside of the chicken (just shake it in there).

*Take the garlic, unpeeled, and cut in half half. Place both halves inside the chicken.

*Quarter a lemon. Place it inside the chicken. Tie up legs and tuck wings under the chicken. (Note: my chicken was pretty much like this so I made it a much bigger deal than it needed to be. Don't fret.)

*Slice the onion, but do not pull it apart. The slices should be good sized, unlike the skinnier ones you'll see in my picture. (Too thin and they will burn in the oven. Whoops!) Place the sliced onion in the bottom of the pan.

*Chop carrots and throw in with the onion. Cut potatoes in quarters or sixths, depending on size and personal preference. Add potatoes to the pan. Place the chicken on top.

*"Dry" the chicken by blotting it with a paper towel. This will keep the outside nice and crispy. Brush the outside of the chicken with melted butter. Then drizzle remaining butter over veggies and mix. (I used about half a stick). Salt and pepper chicken and veggies well.

*Place in the oven for 1 hour 15 minutes to 1 hour 30 minutes. (Mine only needed the 1 hour 15 minutes). To check, cut between the leg and thigh - juices should run clear.

*When chicken is done, take it out and place it on a sheet pan. Cover the chicken with tin foil and put roasting pan with veggies back in the oven for another 15 minutes.

*I recommend cutting the chicken into roughly 6 pieces - 2 breasts (one big slice to cut up), 2 legs, 2 thighs.

Serve the chicken with the veggies and savor in the fact that you've cooked an entire chicken!

My stuffed bird.

Roast before going into the oven.

Some of the yummy dinner!

One more...absolutely delicious!