Roast chicken, potatoes & brussels sprouts

I used to always buy roast chickens from the supermarket for $7.99 thinking it was a steal…and then I went over to my friend Tom’s for dinner and learned how cheap and easy it is to make a roast chicken! Now it is one of our go to meals. If you buy a large enough chicken, there are good leftovers for a few more meals–in salads, as a sandwich, over grits–and then the carcass goes into the freezer to make stock or soup some other time. I got this one from H-Mart in Niles, IL for <$4 and threw it in the freezer a few weeks ago. It ended up taking about 48 hours to fully defrost.

Once it defrosts, I make sure to pat the chicken dry and then brush it with some melted butter. Then, I liberally sprinkle spices (salt, pepper, garlic powder, mustard powder, basil…whatever you want) on both sides and squeeze some lemon or lime over the top. I stuff the chicken with the used lemon/lime pieces and throw it in the oven for 90 minutes at 350F. If you look around online, everyone has a different method. I have found this works well for me and always, without fail, results in a juicy chicken with crisp skin.

I served the chicken with potatoes and brussels sprouts. I don’t eat potatoes very often, but we had a few leftover from when we made gnocchi. They were starting to grow eyes so it was either eat them now or toss them. I just diced them up, tossed them with a little olive oil and spices, and threw them in the oven with the chicken for about 45 minutes.

And finally, the brussels sprouts. I didn’t grow up eating brussels sprouts but I did read a lot of books where the kids HATED brussels sprouts. I even asked my mom when I was nine or ten why she never made me eat brussels sprouts. She said she didn’t really like them so she never bought them for us.

It wasn’t until I was 24 and living with my cousin that I tried brussels sprouts for the first time. I came home from the gym and thought someone farted…turns out she was roasting brussels sprouts. Fast forward 5 years and brussels sprouts are now a favorite in my family. If I see sprouts on a menu, you can guarantee I will order it. They show up at every Christmas, Thanksgiving and Easter…always sliced and sauteed with bacon. So easy and so tasty!