Rosemary and Garlic Roasted Chicken

Hi everyone!  Happy Tuesday!  I apologize that this post is coming a day late, but better late than never, I hope.

What are y'all making for Christmas in terms of food?  I know what your initial answer might be:  cookies and fudge.  Well, that's all fine and dandy except that Christmas dinner hasn't been thought about! 

I get it, Christmas dinner might not be quite as big of an ordeal as Thanksgiving dinner, but any gathering with family and friends needs good comfort food.  Enter roasted chicken.

This recipe was a new experience for me.  Baking is the area of cooking in which I have the most experience (and I'm not any kind of expert in that), but dealing with raw meat, not so much.  I was at home one day after school by myself when I got the call:  my mom wanted me to start getting one of the whole chickens ready to roast with rosemary and garlic.  I'm usually up for adventures,  (cue recipe testing posts) and there was another one right in front of me!  Chopping up the herbs was fine.  But gutting the chicken --that was a little different.  (Side note:  I was telling my friend, Beth about "gutting" the chicken and she said something like, "You probably shouldn't say it like that on your blog."  Sorry to disappoint you, Beth 😉😂.)

So, back to the story.  Anyways, taking the unneeded organs out of the raw chicken was not too appetizing 😬.  (But don't let that discourage you from making this chicken; if I, a klutz can do it, you can do it!)

Long story short, the chicken was pretty easy to prepare and turned out delicious 😋!  I will warn you, though that a whole chicken takes a good while to cook, so it would be good to start this recipe earlier than later.

This roasted chicken is a homey main dish for your Christmas supper.  Serve it along with sausage and herb stuffing, a spinach salad adorned with seasonal fruit and raspberry vinaigrette, and of course, apple pie.

That's all for now.  Don't forget to follow me on Instagram!  I look forward to posting again on Friday 😊.  (Special cookies for you!)

Rosemary and Garlic Roasted Chicken

• 1 whole, fresh, 5-pound chicken (organs removed)
• 5 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 T. minced fresh rosemary
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• Salt and pepper to taste

1.  Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

2.  Pat the skin of the raw chicken dry.

3.  In a small bowl, stir together the rest of the ingredients.

4.  Rub the chicken with the olive oil and herb mixture, making sure to put some inside it.

5.  Gently set the chicken on a rack in a roasting pan and bake in the preheated oven for an hour and 15 minutes, or until the internal temperature of the chicken reaches 165 degrees F.

6.  Enjoy, carving to serve and storing leftovers in the fridge for up to 3 days.