Quick and Easy Ways with Entrees

The writing and posting of this blog was delayed because of my little helper.

John Michael, my nephew, decided he would help me type my blog and hit a key that locked my cursor. After panicking for a few minutes, I called Dell for support. Thirty minutes into the phone call, I was talked into believing that the simple problem was a huge problem that consisted of a virus, software defects, etc. This can be all simply solved for the small price of $400. What? Excuse me but did you not hear me say that my nephew pressed a key and the only problem I am experiencing is my cursor being stuck. I would have just hung up but I had given him access into my computer to "fix" the problem. I am surprised I was left with any hair on my head after the conversation because I wanted to pull it all out. This stress was not worth it. I got off the phone and called a guy who is great with computers, and he fixed my stuck cursor by simply pressing a lock/unlock button on my keyboard. Are you kidding me? That was all it took! Thank you Lord for taking away my worries and solving my problem.
And this is where my blog began, I have walked in the shoes of my older sister, a new mom, for the past two days. I have stayed in the kitchen more than ever and not for cooking purposes but warming up bottle after bottle for my nephew. My beauty sleep has consisted of a beauty baby staring at me while I feed him his early morning bottle.
These shoes are hard to fill! I have learned how to creatively design menus based on transforming one protein into multiple meals.
Yesterday, I bought two whole chickens for $8. The first chicken I roasted for meals this week and the other I froze for another week.

I rubbed spices under and on top of the skin, stuffed the cavity with lemon and herbs, and placed cut vegetables in the bottom of the dish.

Roasted Chicken

1 Whole chicken

2 Tbsp. lemon-pepper seasoning

1 tsp. garlic powder

1 tsp. sea salt
½ lemon
2 bay leaves
1 sprig fresh sage
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 yellow onion, sliced
2 carrots, cut into pieces
2 celery stalks, cut into pieces and stalks reserved

Preheat oven to 475 degrees F.

Wash and pat the chicken dry. Place in a 8x8-inch glass baking dish.

For the rub, mix lemon-pepper seasoning, garlic powder, ground thyme, and sea salt in a small bowl. Rub spice mixture over the outside and under the skin of the chicken. Stuff the cavity with the lemon, bay leaves, sage, and the tops of the celery stalks. Drizzle the olive oil over the top of the chicken. Place the vegetables in the bottom of the glass baking dish. Place in the oven and reduce the heat to 400 degrees. Bake for an hour and a half, basting the juices from the chicken halfway through the baking time.

I baked the chicken in the morning and gave my dad the drumsticks along with some roasted vegetables from the night before for his lunch.

For dinner, I sliced the chicken breast and served it with a turnip au gratin and Southern layered salad. Then for lunch today, my mom and I made chicken quesadillas. We served with it a pea guacamole. For more creative ways to use your roasted chicken, check out my upside down chicken potpie and southern Zuppa recipes in my cookbook.