Bundled Up

The other day while stranded because of the 1st snow, Kevin and I decided to walk down to Safeway to get some essentials before the 2nd snow hit.  We made sure to bundle up.

Who knew a turtleneck sweater could double as a face mask?!

We picked up a whole chicken to roast because we had a ton of veggies that needed to be used up.  In the veggie bed above:  carrots, parsnips, onion, celery, garlic, shallots, and a sweet potato.  We added about 2 cups of chicken broth and a bunch of thyme and rosemary.

We stuffed the bird with 1/2 lemon, garlic cloves, and thyme.  On top, we seasoned the outside with extra virgin olive oil, thyme, and J.O.s.

J.O. Spice is best known for their crab seasoning, but Kevin picked up the Rotisserie Chicken Spice last time he stopped by their store.  Awesome stuff.

We fought over who got to baste the chicken each time.  Basting is fun.  (We were also in the middle of doing P90x Plyometrics and both wanted the break.)  


All of the veggies, chicken broth and seasonings ended up making some of the best vegetable soup/puree/gravy I have every tasted. 

And it made a ton!

We served the chicken with our veggie soup/puree/gravy and steamed brussels sprouts.

This Saturday, Kevin and I have exciting Valentine's Day plans.  We are taking a cooking class at Dogwood Restaurant in Hampden.  I am so excited to take pictures of our experience and will be sure to share.  I can NOT wait!

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Maryland Roasted Chicken

Thanks to all for the nice comments about the marathon this weekend. I did something I was trying not to do and checked the weather! I know it is out of my control, but I had to do it. So far, so good. Partly cloudy, high of 58, low of 38. I could handle that.

Tonight's walk with Oscar was in the dark, on the outside of the park. (I grabbed a big honeycrisp apple before I left for the walk to hold me over until dinner) I get freaked out going into the park at night, so we walked down by where the football/soccer field was because they had the lights on and then I was able to let him off to run and chase the ball. Kevin went with a co-worker to a group run in Federal Hill. Every Monday at 6:30pm, a group meets and runs 4-6 miles and then goes back for a 30 min ab workout. It sounds awesome, so I want to try and go after the marathon!

After the walk, I came home and had 2 of the leftover potstickers from last night and then a few (too many) tortilla chips with whole foods black bean dip. This stuff is addicting. For dinner tonight, I made a turkey and swiss cheese melt on whole grain bread using light, whipped butter.Meanwhile, I decided to roast a chicken that I got from the store last week. For 99 cents a pound, I knew it was the perfect time to try this for the first time. Gotta love a deal.

I chopped up a bunch of carrots, onion, celery, and fresh parsley to put in the bottom of my glass baking dish which I had sprayed with PAM. I poured about a cup of water and placed the chicken on top of the veggies. The top of the chicken was seasoned with pepper and old bay and then I stuffed some unsalted butter between the skin and meat. I pressed it around to cover as much of the chicken as possible. (I probably used about 3 Tablespoons)This went into a 400 degree oven for an hour and a half. I made sure to baste this chicken every 20-30 mins or so using the juices from the chicken mixed with the water in the bottom of the pan - it smelled SO GOOD.

The cooking time will vary, but since I happen to have a meat thermometer, I kept checking every 10 mins after the hour and a half were up until it reached 180 degrees internal temperature.Its done! Kevin is planning to use the juices in the bottom of the pan with all the veggies and create a veggie gravy...yum. Dinner tomorrow night will be a good one!Hope everyone has a great night - GO Redskins!

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