Sunday Night Roast Chicken

I love chicken. Especially Roast Chicken. So, once again it was back to the cooking box. I found a Honey Roast Chicken recipe. My differences from the recipe were that I had an 8-pound roaster and did not make the sauce. My main problem was not with the recipe - it was that my chicken even after days of defrosting in the refrigerator was not totally thawed. My second mistake was trying to do all this while the Super Bowl was going on - thus the burn on my index finger. Needless to say I had some problems. It took an additional 30 minutes to thaw the chicken and I missed most of the first half of the game and commercials. I think my refrig temp is set too high - I'll have to fix that.

As far as the recipe, the chicken came out very good and the family liked so I am going to keep. The honey glaze was good on the skin but it took away from some of the crunchiness that I really like about roast chicken. Also, my husband would have liked it on the actual meat instead of just on the skin. I think the glaze will be a nice addition to regular chicken breasts in the future and I might even make a point of slipping it under the skin the next time I roast chicken.

All in all for all the trouble and time that it took it was yummy. So, I guess another winner for the book.

Honey Roast Chicken
Serves 6 to 8
1 Tbsp Salt

2 tsp Pepper
1 teaspoon paprika
2 whole chickens (3 1/2 to 4 pounds each), giblets discarded
1 teaspoon cornstarch
1 cup plus 1 tablespoon water
1/2 cup honey
5 tablespoons cider vinegar
1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme
2 tablespoons unsalted butter , cut into pieces and chilled

1. PREP CHICKEN Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 375 degrees. Combine 1 tablespoon salt, 2 teaspoons pepper, and paprika in small bowl. Pat chickens dry with paper towels. Rub mixture under skin and over outside of each chicken. Tuck wings behind back, and tie legs together with kitchen twine.
2. MAKE GLAZE Stir cornstarch and 1 tablespoon water together in bowl until no lumps remain; set aside. Bring honey and 4 tablespoons vinegar to simmer in saucepan over medium-high heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until reduced to ½ cup, 3 to 5 minutes. Slowly whisk cornstarch mixture into glaze. Return to simmer and cook 1 minute.
3. ROAST CHICKEN Arrange chickens, breast side down, on V-rack set inside roasting pan. Roast until just golden, about 35 minutes. Remove chickens from oven and, flip breast side up. Raise oven temperature to 450 degrees. Pour 1 cup water and broth into roasting pan. Return chickens to oven and roast until thigh meat registers 165 to 170 degrees, 30 to 40 minutes. Brush chickens evenly with thick layer of glaze, and continue to roast until glaze is golden brown, about 10 minutes. Transfer chickens to cutting board, brush with remaining glaze, and let rest 15 minutes.
4. MAKE SAUCE Meanwhile, pour pan juices and any accumulated chicken juices into saucepan; skim fat. Stir in thyme, bring to simmer, and cook until sauce is slightly thickened and reduced to 1 cup, about 10 minutes. Off heat, whisk in butter and remaining vinegar. Season with salt and pepper. Carve chickens and serve, passing sauce at table.

Can I?

I have a spaghetti sauce recipe that is very old that I have tweaked to make my own. I decided to make the homemade sauce to part of lasagna that I was making that night. Since I have been wanting to learn how to can, I figured this was as good a time as any. I would have extra sauce and I wanted to keep it for awhile for future meals. So I decided to begin my canning experience. I bought the jars and the utensils and made my sauce. I am so excited to know that not only did I make homemade sauce but I canned it as well. This might be silly but I feel like little miss suzie homemaker now. I love all the homemaker stuff. If I could I would be a stay at home mom and homemaker. I settle for weekend Mrs. Cleaver moments.

Anyway, I thought I would start sharing some of my recipes as part of my suzie homemaker moments. So I will start with the sauce.

First assemble all ingredients and utensils.

1 medium onion, diced

3 cloves of garlic, minced

1 carrot finely grated

olive oil

2 (18 oz) cans of tomato paste

2 cans full of water from the tomato paste cans

1 (29 oz) can tomato sauce

1 (29 oz) can crushed tomatoes

2 Tbls. kosher salt

1/2 tsp. of pepper

2 Tbls. oregano

1/4 cup of grated Parmesan cheese (I use Kraft grated)

homemade meatballs

1. Make meatballs. Set aside.

2. Saute onion and garlic in a small amount of olive oil. Add carrot. Saute until tender, do not brown.

3. Combine tomato paste, water, sauce, and crushed tomatoes in a large roasting pan. Add salt, pepper and oregano. Using a whisk, make sure everything is mixed together.

4. Add sauteed onion, garlic and carrot mixture to sauce. Mix well.

5. Add 1/4 cup of grated Parmesan cheese. Whisk gently.

6. Place meatballs in sauce. Gently push them into the sauce until they are covered.

7. Cover the roasting pan, and bake at 3oo degrees for 3-4 hours.

Please try it!!