August 7, 2012

Crispy Chicken, "Faux"tatoes and Roasted Zucchini

(Crispy chicken, "faux"tatoes, and roasted zucchini)

This is what my kids like to call Crispy Chicken.

I altered this recipe a little bit. If you're using a whole chicken, you can follow the basics of PW's recipe by stuffing the chicken, but it's cheaper for us to buy the chicken hindquarters from here rather than a whole bird. (And, up until recently, one package of hindquarters was enough to feed our family. Now that the two babies are eating what we eat, I make two packages and we have leftover for lunch or for chicken salad.)

Alright, here's what you need:


Crispy Chicken

chicken hindquarters, rinsed (get pasture-raised if you can)
1 teaspoon of Basil
1 teaspoon of Oregano
1 teaspoon of Parsley
1 teaspoon pepper
1/2 Tablespoon of salt
2 Tablespoons of Olive Oil

In a small bowl, mix together all the spices and seasonings and add the olive oil until combined well.

Coat your entire hindquarters with the marinade...front, back, every nook and cranny.  Place them on a large piece of tinfoil-covered baking sheet and roast at 425 for about 40 minutes. We like our skin really brown and crispy, crunchy. Let it cool for about 10-15 minutes before tearing into it, so all the juices aren't immediately released and so your chicken tastes juicy, not dry.

That's it...wasn't that so easy?

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"Faux"tatoes


1 giant head of organic cauliflower or a bag of frozen, steamed until soft
1/2 stick of butter
1 tsp garlic powder, or fresh garlic, to taste
sea salt and pepper, to taste


Blend all ingredients in a food processor. Keep scraping the sides and everything willl mix together and turn into what looks like mashed potatoes. Taste to see if you need to add anything else...more butter? Salt? Those are usually what I start with...


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Roasted Zucchini

3-4 zuchinni, sliced (long, thin slices using a mandoline)
olive oil
sea salt & pepper

Lay out all the zucchini slices on a baking sheet. Use a basting brush to coat the slices with olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Put these in the oven for about the last 15 minutes of the chicken being roasted...check them after about 5 minutes...I usually end up turning the heat from 425 to 400 at this point. (Your chicken will continue to roast just fine on this temp.) And roast until light, golden brown.







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