Garlic & Citrus Roast Chicken

I feel like the pictures do all the talking.

Hello beautiful chicken friend.

How I can't wait to eat you.

You were so good in my belly.

In case you didn't know, this is what I cooked up for Easter. It was my first time roasting a whole chicken. Who would've thought it'd be exactly the same as roasting a turkey (I'm sure many of you already knew this, I'm a little slow). Well actually no- not the same. I found it to be much easier! Probably because it didn't weight 10 pounds. And it didn't need to be in the oven for four hours.

I can't tell you enough how good this was. I kept eating and eating and eating and after the hubby left the table I had to force myself to put.down.that.fork and burn off those calories by cleaning up the kitchen.

I used a recipe of Giada's for inspiration. I followed it loosely but stole her general idea. I stuffed it with a few garlic cloves (her recipe calls for a whole head of garlic, which I didn't have), half an orange, half a lemon, and a some shallots. I seasoned it liberally with salt and pepper and smeared butter all over it. I chopped up an onion and shallot for the pan. While the bird cooked I basted it with a mixture of olive oil, juice of 1/2 a lemon & orange and oregano. I also poured a little pit of chicken stock into the pan for some moisture.

It's the best thing I've ever had. Ever made. Ever eaten. I'm a tad obsessed.

Source: very adapted from Giada's Family Dinners

1 3-4 pound whole roasting chicken, neck and giblets discarded
Salt and pepper
1 onion, chopped
4 whole shallots
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 orange, halved
1 lemon, halved
1 head of garlic, halved crosswise (I used four garlic cloves)
1/2 cup of chicken stock (this is how much I used, use more if you need to)
2 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon oregano

Position the rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 400. Rinse the chicken, discarding neck and giblets. Pat dry with paper towels. Place the chicken in a large roasting pan, breast side up (make sure the chopped onion is already in there!). Sprinkle the cavity with salt and pepper. Stuff the cavity with half the lemon, orange, garlic cloves, and shallots. Using kitchen twine, tie the chicken legs together to help hold the bird's shape. Sprinkle the chicken with salt and pepper. Make sure to rub it under the skin too and then rub the chicken with the softened butter. Pour half a cup of chicken stock into the pan.

Roast the chicken for 1 hour, adding chicken broth to the pan if necessary to prevent the pan drippings from burning. Squeeze the other half of the lemon and orange into a medium bowl. Add oregano and olive oil. Whisk together and brush some of the juice over the chicken. Continue roasting the chicken, basting occasionally, for about 45 minutes longer. Use a meat thermometer (if you like), check if chicken is done by inserting it into the innermost part of the thigh. Chicken is done at 170 degrees and when juices run clear. Once chicken is done, transfer to a platter and tent with foil for about 20 minutes before slicing.

Love.

Features, Food, and a CAR!

First off, I'm horrible and should have thanked It's a Keeper and Cupcake Apothecary  for featuring my recipes last week.

These lemon sugar cookies were in the top six at Cupcake Apothecary.

The buttermilk pork chops (also known as the ruler of all pork chops) was featured at It's a Keeper.

I can't thank these ladies enough! This was my first time being featured anywhere and they both so happened to be in the same week! I'm so honored. :)

What else is new? I made this AMAZING hamburger Tuesday night.

Caramelized onions, swiss cheese, lettuce, and spicy mayo. OMG, so good! Yes yes, I will share.

And then....on Wednesday night, we bought a CAR!!

I don't think you understand. We've only had one car since moving to Michigan. We used to have two cars, but they both went kaput. Literally. So we lived with one car that my parents so graciously gave us and whenever the hubby needed to be on campus, we dealt with odd drop off and pick ups, with me getting to work early, staying later, begging for rides (thanks neighbor!!) and calling cabs. Needless to say this is a HUGE stress reliever, as the hubby will begin rotations next week and will work all sorts of weird hours. One car wasn't going to cut it. This is going to be life-changing!

Alrighty folks, you've been updated on the This Woman Cooks! household. Thanks for reading. :)

Oh Sweet Dinner Rolls

It's no secret that I love sweets. Sweets of all kinds. Sweets in all forms. (By the way, these cookies are up for grabs at Bloggers Bake for Hope. Go donate!). I always want something sweet after every meal. This is kind of annoying and I try really hard to ignore the craving, but I need to have a bite of chocolate, or cookie, something. Hence why we have a chocolate bag in the house (with snickers, m&m's, hershey's kisses, cadbury eggs..mainly all leftover holiday chocolate). And a baked good of some form is constantly in our goodie box. But I'm not alone here. The hubbs is just as bad.

These dinner rolls have a slight sweetness to them. It has to be the whole wheat flour (and oh yes, the sugar). But they're really, really good, my favorite dinner rolls to date (even though these are the first I've ever made. Share your dinner roll recipes with me!!).   

This was my first time making dinner rolls and it was so easy! I made about thirty of them, all various sizes, and froze a big batch of them. They were still great days later, although of course, the first day they're fresh out of the oven is the best. I'd suggest making them for your next dinner party (if you have those) and wow the socks off your guests.

And you should make a roast chicken to go with it..just saying. :)

Source: adapted from Allrecipes.com

1/2 cup warm water (110 degrees F/45

degrees C)

1/2 cup warm milk

1 egg

1/3 cup butter, softened

1/3 cup white sugar

1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast

1/4 cup butter, softened

Warm up the water and milk in the microwave for 1 minute and 15 seconds. Pour the liquids into the bowl of a stand-in mixer (or a large bowl, if you're using a hand mixer). Stir in the sugar until dissolved. Stir in the yeast. After about 10 minutes, mixture should be foamy. Mix in the salt, butter and egg, then mix the flour a half cup at a time. Knead on a floured counter for 5 minutes, place dough back in bowl and let rise for about 45 minutes to an hour. After the dough has risen, punch down, and knead on the floured counter again, 3-4 minutes. Roll out the dough and cut out long stripes. Cut the stripes in half and roll each piece into balls. Let it rise for 30 minutes. Bake them at 375 for 12-15 minutes.

P.S. Happy Cinco de Mayo!! How are you celebrating today?

Whole Wheat Blueberry Muffins

A few weeks ago our kitchen had a strange smell. We couldn't figure out where  it was coming from or what it could be. I thought it might be the trash so I threw out the bag and thought that was it. Problem solved. Wrong! Our kitchen still smelled. I cleaned, washed out the sink and garbage disposal. Nope. It still smelled.

The hubbs said that it had to be coming from the fridge. We've never had a smelly fridge, but I looked through it and found nothing (or so I thought...).

The smell lingered.
 
It wasn't until I came home with groceries the next weekend that we'd had enough. I took everything out and wiped it down. Put everything back in.

It still smelled!

And then I realized something. There were black beans in the fridge. That I had used a week before. Could that be the cause?

Yes. It was. I didn't even think about checking them (stupid, I know), and left them in the back of the fridge when I took everything else out.

Oops.

So, what does this story have to do with these muffins?

Nothing.

I felt like you might need a good story.

And there isn't really one for these muffins. They're just good. I recently made them for a bunch of coworkers and they were a hit. So there you go. :)

Source: Stephanie Cooks

Topping
2	tablespoons packed brown sugar
1/4	teaspoon ground cinnamon
Muffins
3/4	cup milk
1/4	cup canola or soybean oil
1/4	cup honey
1	egg
1	cup all-purpose flour
1	cup whole wheat flour
3	teaspoons baking powder
1/2	teaspoon salt
1	cup  blueberries (fresh or frozen)

	Heat oven to 400°F. Spray 12 regular-size muffin cups with cooking spray, or place paper baking cup in each muffin cup. In small bowl, stir together topping ingredients; set aside.
	In large bowl, beat milk, oil, honey and egg with spoon until well blended. Stir in flours, baking powder and salt just until dry ingredients are moistened (batter will be lumpy). Gently fold in blueberries.
	Divide batter evenly among muffin cups (cups will be full). Sprinkle with topping.
	Bake 18 to 20 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean and muffins are golden brown. Immediately remove from pan.

Menu Plan Monday & Our Weekend Getaway

This weekend the hubbs and I went on a mini celebratory vacation. There was no studying, cooking, or baking. It was time to celebrate life, as cheesy as it sounds. Finally being able to have a life again, together. There is so much to look forward to in the future and I'm SO excited. :)

We drove to Lake Michigan and checked into a beautiful bed and breakfast.

We stayed in the guesthouse, in a gorgeous room with a huge bed, fireplace, and whirlpool tub (!).

It was just what we needed.

Every afternoon treats were laid out in the main house.

Mmmm. Heaven.

We also walked around the town, which is currently abandoned, as it's still way too cold to enjoy the lake. That didn't matter to us. We found other ways to entertain ourselves.

Like hanging out in a toy store...

...and in every little girl's paradise.

Then it was time to eat.

Calories don't exist on vacation. I'm sure we all would agree on that.

That's why it's okay that we went back to the b&b and ate popcorn and hot chocolate.

And had this breakfast the next day.

This is why this post is on a food blog.

Anywho, it was a wonderful weekend! So much food, love, and relaxation. I hate that it had to end.

I've got lots of recipes to share with you, seeing as I only posted two last week (I don't even know who I am anymore), and I promise to do so soon. In the meantime, our menu has been planned out and I'm excited to try some new stuff!

Glazed Salmon with Mustard & Herbs
Classic Pot Roast
Herbed Risotto with Chicken and Carmelized Onions
Parmesan Crusted Chicken
Rotisserie Chicken with Herbed Couscous

Btw, this week is Teacher Appreciation Week, so if you're in the mood to bake, drop off some treats at your local school. :) Have a great week!