The phrase “Sunday dinner” immediately brings to my mind a meal of either pot roast or roasted chicken. I feel like these are stereotypes brought in from television shows and movies, but also true within my families growing up. Sundays are days for Jesus, family, and relaxation, and I have really grown to enjoy spending time making meals for my family. This past Sunday we found ourselves at home with no real plans, so I decided to put a big roasted chicken dinner together for our evening meal.

During the week, I make it a point to have meals made for supper time that we can all sit down and enjoy together, but with a busy family of almost-seven, there are some nights where I have to have something in the slow cooker that everyone can grab whenever they get home. The free nights we have as a family are such a joy, and I like to make them as nice as possible for my husband and children, even though they always tell me I don’t need to. It makes my heart happy to plan and cook a balanced meal, use a tablecloth and placemats, get out my grandma’s wedding china, set the table, and serve the food where we all eat together.

How to Roast a Chicken

There are various ways to cook a whole chicken these days, and I enjoy all of them! I do like a classic oven-roasted chicken on a cool, icky weather day, which is exactly what we had last weekend. The wind was howling, and while the sun was out most of the day, it wasn’t particularly pleasant to be outside. I had been planning to grill something that afternoon, but quickly changed to a traditional Sunday chicken dinner. I had a 5 lb. organic, free-range whole chicken with no neck or giblets (always check for those before you cook a whole chicken!) I bought on sale a couple of days ago, so I pulled it out of the fridge and rinsed it off (clean/disinfect your sink after placing raw meat in it), then placed it breast-side up on the rack of the roasting pan I inherited from my great grandma. You can also use a wire rack inside of a 9×13 cake pan.

I started by stuffing the cavity with a quartered lemon, dried rosemary from our garden, and some sliced fermented garlic cloves. I did squeeze some of the lemon juice onto the top of the chicken. Also note that baking anything fermented does kill off the beneficial bacteria, but the fermented garlic has such a strong flavor that I wanted to use it in this application. Drizzle the top of the chicken with your oil of choice (I used avocado oil). This helps the skin get that delicious crunch while roasting. Sprinkle with more rosemary, salt, pepper, and any other seasonings you desire.

***Also be sure to wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water in between handling the raw chicken. You do NOT want raw meat bacteria transferring around your kitchen!**

Bake at 350*F for two hours; I used the convection setting on my oven and it took a little less time than that. Use a meat thermometer to ensure the inner part of the breast is cooked to at least 165*F. Remove the chicken from the oven and let rest for 5-10 minutes. Remove from the pan, slice, and serve! Our meal was rounded out by sweet corn, fried potatoes, and sourdough baking powder drop biscuits. We did not have many leftovers!

Garlic Rosemary Lemon Roasted chicken recipe

Serves 4-6 using a 5-pound chicken

Ingredients

-5 lb. Whole chicken with neck and giblets removed

-One lemon

-6 cloves of garlic

-2 Tb dried rosemary

-1 TB avocado oil (or oil of choice)

-Salt to taste

-Pepper to taste

Directions

1. Thoroughly thaw chicken before cooking. Remove from packaging, rinse, and place on a wire rack inside a roasting pan, breast side up.

2. Preheat oven to 350*F.

3. Quarter the lemon, squeeze some lemon juice on top of chicken if desired. Stuff lemon wedges into chicken cavity. Slice garlic cloves in half and place in cavity. Insert 1 Tb dried rosemary into cavity.

4. Drizzle oil on top of chicken. Sprinkle remaining rosemary on top, along with salt and pepper to taste.

5. Bake for 1.5 to 2 hours. Use a meat thermometer placed in the thickest part of the breast to ensure chicken is thoroughly cooked through.

6. Remove from oven and let rest for 5-10 minutes. Remove from rack, slice, and serve.