Oven Roasted Chicken

1 (5 to 6 pound) roasting chicken
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 large bunch fresh thyme, plus 20 sprigs
1 lemon, halved
1 head garlic, cut in half crosswise
2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter, melted
1 large yellow onion, thickly sliced - quartered
4 carrots cut into 2-inch chunks
Olive oil



Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
Remove the chicken giblets. Rinse the chicken inside and out.
Remove any excess fat and leftover pin feathers and pat the outside dry.
Liberally salt and pepper the inside of the chicken.
Stuff the cavity with the bunch of thyme, both halves of lemon, and all the garlic.
Brush the outside of the chicken with the olive oil and sprinkle again with salt and pepper.
Tie the legs together with kitchen string and tuck the wing tips under the body of the chicken.
Place the onions & carrots, roasting pan. Toss with salt, pepper, 20 sprigs of thyme, and olive oil.
Spread around the bottom of the roasting pan and place the chicken on top.
Roast the chicken for 1 1/2 hours, or until the juices run clear when you cut between a leg and thigh. Remove the chicken and vegetables to a platter and cover with aluminum foil for about 20 minutes.

Slice the chicken onto a platter and serve it with the vegetables.

Who knew this was so easy? 

 I carved the chicken & made more chicken stock for the Chicken Tortilla Soup.
The chicken salad sandwiches were excellent.
One chicken can easily generate 8+ high protein servings.
Read more at: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/perfect-roast-chicken-recipe.html?oc=linkback

Blueberry Lemon Pops

• 1 cup nonfat vanilla yogurt, plus several extra dollops for each popsicle*
• 1 cup fresh blueberries, divided
• 1 tablespoon honey
• Juice from one lemon (or about three tablespoons lemon juice)

Directions:

1. Mix 1 cup of yogurt, 3/4 cup blueberries, the honey, and the lemon juice together in a blender or food processor until smooth.
2. Grab the popsicle molds and put a few blueberries in the bottom of each mold, followed by a couple dollops of yogurt. Then, add a few more blueberries before filling the mold the rest of the way with the blended blueberry-yogurt mixture.
3. If the molds don’t come with handles, cover the molds with plastic wrap and make small holes in the wrap for the popsicle sticks -- then place the popsicle sticks through the holes and into the center of each popsicle mold.
4. Put the popsicles in the freezer for several hours.
5. Enjoy!

YUMMMM!~  Good for breakfast, snack & desert!  

Homemade Taco Seasoning

2 table spoons of chili powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon of crushed red pepper
1/2 teaspoon of dried oregano
1 teaspoon of paperika
3 teaspoons of ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon of salt
2 teaspoons black pepper

I will NEVER buy taco seasoning packets again!!!

Spicy Chickpea Quinoa

1 cup quinoa
3 cup chickpeas
2 cup brocolli
1/2 cup of carrots
1/2 cup of red/orange peppers
4 tablespoons of olive oil
Chili flakes

Cook your quioa normally and set aside.-I cooked mine in the home made chicken stock.

Heat olive oil, chili flakes in large frying pan on low for 10 minutes.  Oil should take on an orange hue.
Turn up the heat to 4 and add your veggies.  Allow them to cook part way though.
Turn the heat up to 5 and add the chick peas.  Stir together until the chickpeas start to pop.

Excellent hot or cold!  I could have used less olive oil.  Any mixture of spice & veggies would be good.  You can always add chicken.

I will be making this again.  It didn't last long.  I will take a picture.
Possible homemade Backpacking meal?

Homemade Crockpot Chicken Soup

2 lbs chicken breasts-I used frozen
6 cups of chicken broth/stock-chicken stock recipe
1/2 teaspoon of crush red pepper flakes
1 cup sliced celery
4 carrots-sliced
1 small onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup fresh, chopped Italian parsley
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
Salt to taste
8 oz of fav pasta

Combine all ingredients except pasta for 6-8 hours, or until carrots are tender.
For the last hour add the pasta until pasta is al dente or to desired doneness & shred chicken.

This was so good, easy, cheap & healthy.  I got about 6-7 large servings.
I will never buy soup from the store again.