When Ryan got home from work today and saw this beast on the kitchen table, he immediately stopped and said, “Whoa!”
Apparently I did a little dance around the table to direct his attention to the chicken because his next words were, “Ooh, I like your moves!”
What can I say? I was awfully proud of preparing a whole roasted chicken all by myself. I’ve made a whole chicken a handful of times before and it always elicits a sense of accomplishment in me and seems to be an impressive dish to others.
But, to be honest, this dinner really wasn’t that hard to make! The hands on time was only about eight minutes and it took about an hour and 15 minutes to cook in the oven. It was actually more simple to make than my favorite meatloaf!
I prepared the chicken by following a super-simple recipe from Cooking Light that I had tucked away in a binder of recipes I put together a few years ago.
Ryan and I enjoyed it with a side of Annie Chun’s multi-grain sticky rice that the company sent me to try.
This rice is so, so good! I like it about ten thousand times more than regular rice, which I find to be quite bland. The sticky rice has a much more appealing texture and the flavor is almost nutty. Delish!
Ryan and I both went back for seconds of chicken and veggies.
I love it when chicken isn’t dry and seems to fall off the bone. For such an easy recipe, I am quite impressed with the end result.
I actually ended up making the chicken because I compared the price of a whole chicken to chicken breasts at the grocery store this week and the whole chicken was significantly cheaper. The entire chicken wasn’t even four dollars and it easily fed two people (and a dog) with leftovers to boot.
I’m already brainstorming ideas for the leftover chicken and see BBQ chicken salad in my future…
Time to hang with my little family!
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That’s an impressive meal! I’ve never made a whole chicken, but you make it sound so easy, I may have to try 🙂
It’s totally easy! I just recommend following a recipe, but I’ve done it before too. I really only like the breast meat though, so it’s kind of a waste just for myself – but my boyfriend’s whole family likes dark meat better so when he and I live together it’ll be no trouble at all. 🙂
I totally feel accomplished any time I roast a chicken, bake a cake, lasagne, etc. It’s such a good feeling.
Or even once I had to make like 4 boxes of Kraft Dinner for my boyfriend and his starving friends who were working on a movie this summer. They treated me like I was such a hero, when it’s like “You boil the water… then you cook it… then you are done!” haha
That chicken DOES look amazing! Making a whole chicken is way intimidating, but then I finally did it and it was such a piece of cake!
Ohmygosh your dinner looks SO delicious! The sticky rice looks so hearty and delicious!!
PS Make sure to check out my GIVEAWAY!!!
Looks so Good! Congrats on your meal! I’ve never cooked a whole chicken in my life. It seems a bit intimidating.
if you have the desire to try, i highly recommend that recipe! it was so easy!
Holy moly I am so impressed! Whole chickens intimidate me! Nice job! How do you make it look so easy and delicious? 🙂
i followed the recipe. they deserve all the credit!
I have a good recipe for doing a whole chicken in the crockpot. Comes out like a rotisserie chicken, but without the yummy skin. That looks good!
The Kidless Kronicles
oh awesome!! i need to try that!
How big was that chicken? It looks HUGE! It’s amazing how much cheaper buying the whole bird is.
it was actually a little less than four pounds. it does look big!
delicious looking dinner julie! very fall-like, for some reason. not sure why i think that. i find that chicken on the bone is way tastier than boneless. i’m sure youll think of great ways to eat the leftovers!
I love roasting whole chickens! I actually just made one myself last week 🙂 delicious and so juicy!! And just like you, I made BBQ chicken sandwiches with the leftovers! Enjoy your night!
Roasted my first chicken this past weekend!
awesome! chicken twins! 😀
I’ve never compared the prices of chicken options like that before but I definitely want to now! I’d much rather have leftovers and save money in the long run.
I’ve always wanted to make a complete roasted chicken, but have always been afraid that it won’t turn out. I think I may have to give it a shot because that looks so good!
Definetly a “whoa” meal! Congrats 🙂
OMG woman that chicken looks amazing. The recipe looks great and aside from some chopping, is relatively easy. What a great meal for a chilly fall night! xoxo
Wow, that’s a lot of chicken for the two of you – lucky Sadie 😉 I love making too much food sometimes – it makes lunch/dinner the next day oh so very easy!
Haha that is very impressive! It would definitely freak me out to tackle a whole chicken! Even chicken breast freaks me out!
Oh my gosh this looks so delicious! Sometimes the easiest recipes turn out tasting the best 🙂
And leftovers?! Huge win!
XOXO
I used to make roast chicken all the time when I was a teenager and young adult…but then have only made it a handful of times since then because to buy a whole chicken costs almost as much as buying a rotisserie one from the deli (and that’s just a small fryer too, a big roaster is upwards of 11 dollars!). I did make a little roast chicken for myself the other week though, just cause I felt like it. It is easy and enjoyable to do. I think I will buy the rotisserie ones most of the time still though, just cause of the money thing.
Your chicken does look lovely:) Great job!
ryan and i commented about the same thing which is another reason why i rarely buy a whole chicken. many times they’re $6-7 dollars, which is the same price as rotisserie chickens from the store! for some reason this chicken was cheaper… less than $4. i think it must’ve been smaller than usual, so i was a happy camper.
This is something that’s been on my “to make” list for some time! I’ve always wanted to give Glamour Magazine’s “Engagement Chicken” recipe first dibs, but this one looks (and sounds) perfect. Way to go, Julie! Color me impressed!
Mmmmm that looks so good I linked to the recipe! I have a question though. The directions say to throw out the vegetables. Is it just the ones actually inside the chicken? You said you enjoyed them and it seems like such a shame to toss them!
I am most definitely making this is the very near future!!
we ate all the veggies!
Wow! That chicken looks amazing!! I am going to have to try this sometime – I have never roasted a chicken!
Oh wow, I literally gasped when I saw that chicken! It looks so good!! Ryan is a lucky man! 🙂
Your roasted chix looks amazing! I know what will be on our menu next week!
Ummm..can I say that I didn’t get my happy “pbfingers” email today? I was so totally behind on the posts! What’s up with that?
hmmm i have no idea why that happened!
That chicken looks so good! I should get back to cooking…
Definitely an accomplishment. Congrats, it looks delish!
Nice job on the chicken! It’s often so, so much cheaper than the individual cuts – and freezes really well. And, if you’re feeling like you don’t want to do ANY work, I’ve cooked ’em in the crock pot with great success. Hmmm – sounds like I’ve got a dinner plan for Monday!
i love buying prepared rotisserie chickens at fresh market to use throughout the week. it would be significantly cheaper to roast one myself, but it always seemed so scary!! maybe i’ll follow your method and give it a shot…
We recently started roasting whole chickens too because of the price!! You can even do it in the crockpot with chicken broth and then shred it up 🙂
Yum! I love cooking whole chickens. It is super easy, cheap and healthy! Yours looks delicious!
Nice work kiddo! Looks like Thanksgiving Turkey is on you now..way to raise the bar…. 😉
eek. i’m not sure i’m up to that one yet… 🙂
Im sure its just as easy. Only one way to find out. Ryan and yourself are on Thanksgiving Turkey duty, and just have the local Pizza joints number on hand and Im sure it will all work out! 😉
Every year for Thanksgiving and Christmas, my work gives out free turkeys. David loves it because we have delicious sandwiches and dishes for weeks! 🙂
“WHOA” 😉
I give it another whoa! I have roasted a chicken a handful of times and the results are always so delish. I just sometimes don’t plan ahead enough to make it after work. I definitely need to work on my carving skills.
I can’t believe you got the entire chicken for less than $4! I’ll definitely have to check out the prices at my store this week!
i know! i was shocked! i think it must’ve been smaller than usual or something.
i don’t want to sound preachy or judgey, but do you ever think about cutting down on your meat intake? i only mention it because i have started to notice that you eat it more often than most people in the blog-o-sphere, especially in the healthy eating community.
i am definitely not opposed to cutting down on my meat intake, but ryan is a serious meat eater. of course he’s not opposed to eating meals where a legume or cheese serves as the protein source, but i know he prefers actual meat and i like it a lot, too. we do try to select lean, healthy meats in the meat we choose to consume.
Have you seen Forks Over Knives? I found it really interesting. Although, you might have to be careful with watching it, everyone I know that’s seen it has jumped into plant-based eating, lol.
Julie, please don’t ever stop eating or posting meals with meat. I’m a meat-eater and I enjoy seeing how you prepare your meals. I like the inspiration. If I wanted to read a blog with vegetarian/vegan meals, I would find a blog that focused on those topics. Plus, why would you want to be like everyone else in the “blog-o-sphere?”
What a steal of a deal! $4?! That’s another “whoa” right there. Looks delicious 🙂
AH, congrats on roasting your first chicken! I did it for the first time a couple of month’s ago thanks to my mama’s instructions, and it was so stinkin’ exciting! The only part that i disliked was the washing of the little guy…. PS. I noticed someone commented about your eating more meat than other bloggers, and I have to say I actually appreciate that fact about you/your recipes, although I honestly never paid attention to that fact.
Oh heavens! I can’t think of anything more delicious and comforting than roast chicken. The only time I ever made one was one of those whole chickens in a bag from Purdue, you legit cook it in a bag LOL but it still was yummy–minus I cooked the chicken upside down! Big mistake. I think my favorite part may be the roasted veggies in the pan…
Very impressive meal! I am scared to roast my own chicken, because I feel like I would completely mess it up!
i so want to try that sticky rice! looks so good!
I would be too intimidated to make that chicken!! Congrats on the dinner success. If it’s as easy as you say it is, I may have to give it a shot sometime! 🙂
Have you ever tried roasting a chicken on top of stale bread instead of using a roasting rack? All the drippings get soaked up, and the bread gets all chicken-y, and crispy and nice.
that sounds amazing!
I have yet to roast a chicken but I definitely want to try it!
Sweet! I hate dark meat or I’d be all over that. Maybe sometime for the fam??? I would definitely be a fan of that sticky rice though. I want to run out & buy it! 🙂
Wow, that is cost effective! I bought just two chicken breasts the other day at the grocery store and I was stunned by how expensive they were. Maybe I need to stop being afraid of roasting a whole one of these bad boys!
I am seriously considering moving to America – $4 for a whole chicken. The last chicken I bought was $15, not to mention the bananas – $6.99 a kilo and they were cheap ones!!!
I eat primarily a vegan diet, but I have a houseful of visitors coming in October for Oktoberfest (holy beer batman!) and just about the only meat dish I feel I can prepare without putting people’s lives at risk is a roast of beef. It’s so easy and multipurpose and even though my mom will probably be driven nuts by my multiple phone calls, I’m pretty sure the main thing is to stick it in the oven and forget it for a few hours. That I can handle!
good luck! i hope it turns out great… and oktoberfest sounds like a blast!
Way to go Julie!! The chicken looks amazing! I just bought a couple of packages of the sticky rice at Whole Foods last weekend and I can’t wait to try them!
Whoa! That IS impressive. Way to go. Still have yet to tackle that feat around here…. 😉
Nice job! I’ve actually never cooked a whole chicken before. I did a turkey several months ago, but I have yet to do a chicken. I’ve wanted to do it, but it’s a little intimidating to me! You’ve inspired me though – I think I just need to go for it!