Herb Roasted Chicken Dinner
The perfect meal for a Sunday Roast Dinner, family get-together, or special occasion
I just happened to make this meal for Easter and it was the perfect meal for two! I got a small 5 lb chicken which was just enough to provide us with leftovers for a few days after. You can also use this recipe for making a turkey dinner, that's originally what the stuffing recipe was intended for but it's just as tasty with chicken! There are many components to this meal and timing is important to make sure it is all done around the same time. Along with the chicken and stuffing I also made garlic mashed potatoes and sauteed asparagus for side dishes, here are the steps:
For a 5lb chicken I started cleaning the chicken and preparing the stuffing ~5 hours prior to the time we planned on having dinner. Make sure to leave yourself enough time especially if this is your first time making a dinner like this because poultry cooking time can vary greatly. I’ve made many a turkey dinner with my mom and she would start at the crack of dawn. This was the first time I’ve cooked a dinner like this on my own and I’ll admit I was a bit stressed even with such a little chicken! Just give yourself plenty of time and take the first steps as slow as you need to.
Herb Roasted Chicken with Stuffing and Garlic Mashed Potatoes
Turkey or Chicken Stuffing Ingredients:
- 3/4 cup finely chopped onion
- 1 1/2 cups chopped celery (with leaves)
- 1/2 cup margarine or butter OR 3 strips hickory smoked bacon chopped
- 9 cups dry bread cubes
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp sage
- 1/2 tsp thyme
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 1 tsp chicken bouillon
- 1-2 cups chicken broth
Directions:
1. Cook bacon (or butter/margarine) in large stock pot on medium heat.
2. When bacon has cooked (~10 mins to chewy bacon) add onion and celery and cook until tender. Stir frequently.
3. Stir in seasonings
4. Remove from heat and stir in bread cubes.
5. Add chicken broth to desired consistency.
Preparing your poultry:
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
- Rinse with water and remove any remaining feathers or excess fat. Remove giblets/neck and rinse inner cavity.
(optional: saute giblets with 1 tsp chicken bouillon, onion, sage, 2 cups water to make your own chicken stock. Strain and add to stuffing before chicken stock)
- Place poultry on tray.
- This is where we will oil and salt the poultry: not too much oil or salt but make sure to cover your poultry with oil, do not salt the inner cavity. ~1 tbsp olive oil + 1 tsp salt on each side.
- Also use 1 tbsp olive oil + 2 cloves of minced garlic mixed with sage to put under the skin to infuse a wonderful flavor into the meat. Gently loosen the skin and place underneath.
- Transfer to roasting pan.
Now we will stuff the chicken/turkey and get it in the oven!
Fill the large cavity of a chicken and both the large cavity and small cavity in the front if making a turkey. Sprinkle seasonings on top: sage, poultry seasoning, basil, rosemary, thyme, pepper. Cover and bake for recommended time based on the size of your poultry WITH stuffing as this adds additional time. Make sure to use a meat thermometer to monitor temp of meat, place in breast 1 hour into roasting. Also have chicken broth on hand for basting. I am new to making these types of dinners but I have been using 2 cups of chicken broth that I add during baking to keep the poultry from drying out and adding additional flavor. Remove foil covering during the last 40 minutes of cooking to brown top. Once your poultry has reached the correct temp, remove from oven, let rest, then begin to carve.
One hour to go until dinner is ready, let’s work on those side dishes…
Garlic Mashed Potatoes Ingredients:
- 6-8 red potatoes depending on how many mouths you are feeding (~1.5-2pp)
- 2-3 cloves garlic
- 1 tbsp margarine or butter
- 1/2-1 cup half & half, heavy cream, or milk
- 2-3 tbsp ranch dressing
- 1/2 tsp garlic salt
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1-2 tsp basil
Directions:
1. Boil 6 qt water in stock pot
2. Trim (leave skins on) and quarter potatoes, mince garlic, add to boiling water.
3. Check with fork at ~25 mins to test doneness, once you can pierce all the way through easily and potatoes are soft remove from heat and drain.
*Optional: Keep drained water and set aside for homemade gravy*
4. Put potatoes back into pot for mixing.
5. Add butter and 1/2 cup milk, use an electric mixer to mash.
6. Add spices and ranch.
7. Continue to add milk slowly to desired consistency and more seasonings to taste.
8. When finished, spoon from pot into oven safe dish and put into oven to keep warm during remainder of cooking.
(optional) If wanting to make homemade gravy drain water into another container and set aside. After making mashed potatoes and transferring out of pot, add water back to pot. Add 1 tsp chicken bouillon, salt & pepper to taste, 1-2 tbsp (or more) sifted flour to thicken.
Asparagus Ingredients:
- Fresh asparagus
- 1 tbsp Butter
- 1 tsp seasoning salt
Directions:
- Heat butter and seasonings in saute pan on medium heat.
- Add asparagus and cook until tender, stir frequently and keep an eye on them, if they start to burn add 1 tbsp of water to slightly steam.
- Smaller stocks cook faster, ~10 mins.
- Place into oven safe dish and put into oven to keep warm during the remainder of cooking.
Add some oven baked rolls, maybe some cranberry sauce, olives, yams, peas, brussels sprouts, have some fun with it!
Hope you enjoy this wonderful meal!
