A very grown up meal

I admit it, I'm a slacker most days when it comes to dinner, as my posts illustrate I'm a huge fan of dinner that comes in one pot and is ready in 30 minutes. I blame it on a hectic class schedule combined with the fact that next year hopefully I won't have time to more than a 30 minute dinner (fingers crossed y'all, the legal job market sucks this year because a lot of law firms are actually laying off associates which means they are not hiring newbies like me)..

But I digress, because I am fully confident that I will be employed by the time I get my bar exam results, which brings me to the purpose of this post... In celebration of a rare snow day here in NC I made a proper grown up dinner that would be perfect for a celebration.. I BAKED A WHOLE CHICKEN...

Here's a secret, you can buy an entire chicken for under $5 because whole chickens are way cheaper than buying, for example, boneless skinless chicken breasts. So next time you want to have a party, save some money, be brave, and impress your guests by presenting an entire bird. I served mine with roasted vegetables and broccoli casserole. Here's the recipe:

Baked Chicken:
1 - 4.5 to 5.5 lb chicken (or larger depending on how many people you want to feed)
1 lemon sliced in half then quartered
1 handful fresh thyme (not chopped)
6 cloves garlic
2 onions quartered
2 sweet potatoes sliced in half and quartered
2 regular potatoes sliced in half and quartered
2 stalks celery corsely chopped
2 carrots corsely chopped
1/4 cup white wine
1/4 cup water
3 tablespoons lemon pepper seasoning
2 tablespoons pepper
1 tablespoon salt
2 tablespoons butter

Preheat the oven to 350 or 375. Place the potatoes, sweet potatoes, celery, carrots, 3 cloves of the garlic, and one of the onions in the bottom of a large dutch oven (told you this is the most important piece of cookware you can own). Drizzle with olive oil and season with lemon pepper, salt and pepper.

Now on to the chicken. Remove the giblets from the inside of the chicken (its really gross I know, but this is a big girl meal so be brave). Rinse the chicken, especially the interior cavity really well. Pat dry with a paper towel. Stuff the interior cavity with half of the thyme, the lemon, the butter and the rest of the onion and garlic. Drizzle the exterior of the chicken with olive oil. Season well with lemon pepper seasoning, salt and pepper.

Place the chicken on top of the potato mixture. Add the wine and the water to the bottom of the dutch oven. Place in the oven and bake for 20 minutes multiplied by how much the chicken weighs plus an additional 10 minutes (for example you would bake a 5.5 lb chicken for 2 hours because 20 x 5.5 = 110 + 10 = 120 minutes).

Remove from oven and allow to rest for 10 minutes or so before slicing.

Broccoli Casserole:
3 cups frozen broccoli
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1/2 onion finely minced
1/4 to 1/2 cup mayo
2 eggs
2 cups chedder cheese
Salt and Pepper to taste

Cook the broccoli according to package directions. In a bowl mix the soup, onion, 1/2 of the cheese, eggs, salt and pepper. Fold in the broccoli.

Place in a greased casserole dish. Top with remaining cheese. Bake at 350 or 375 for 45 minutes or until the casserole has set and the cheese is melted and bubbly and golden brown on the edges.

Enjoy!!