Basic Roast Chicken and Potatoes

So here's the "sitch"...my husband is allergic to poultry.  Not sure if I've ever mentioned it, but it's weird and worth noting before I go into this recipe and why it's such a big deal for me.  I haven't cooked chicken in YEARS because I was always so afraid of cross-contamination and frankly, not willing to make two completely different proteins for one meal.  As of late, our work schedules are pretty opposite of one another, so my son and I find ourselves having dinner sans Daddy.  Which sucks.  Big time.  I miss our family meals and I really lost my passion for making nice dinners since my sole dining companion is 2 and isn't a very...appreciative diner.  We've been getting by on quick pasta dishes, loaded baked potatoes, soup, etc...you know, easy one-pot type stuff.  That is, until I had an epiphany...since I'm not cooking for the hubs, I can make chicken!  Woohoo!  I know...small victory...just give me this one, mkay?

Some of the basics...

Since I'm all grown up now, I figured I should master how to roast a whole chicken.  It's a basic recipe and easy to pull out for company...everyone loves it.  If you don't already have this one in your arsenal, read on, and if you already do...read on anyway, because this isn't your average roast chicken ;-)




Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.  Chop some red potatoes into bite sized chunks and toss with a splash of olive oil, salt, pepper, and thyme.  Toss 'em in a baking dish and set aside whilst you prepare the bird!

Mmmm butter...and other stuff.

Grab yourself some buttah' and let it soften...if you're like me and wait until the last minute to get it
out and start cooking, zap it in the microwave for about 10 seconds...that should do it.  Chop up a handful of parsley, zest a lemon, and mince 2 cloves of garlic.  Mix well and set aside.

Now, the important difference between your average roast chicken recipe and this one is the butchering of the chicken.  Some call it butterflying, others call it spatchcocking...whatever you call it, it helps the chicken cook more evenly and it can even cook faster.  Get yourself a nice, whole chicken.  Rinse and pat dry (both inside and out....and remove all the...innards).  Flip it over and, using poultry shears, cut out the spine.  Then you cut notches in the cartilage on either side of the breast bone and yank that out.  But do it nicely...you don't want to tear up your chicken.  Then you flip it over and voila! You have a beautifully butterflied chicken.  Check out this helpful video that I used to learn this technique.

Awaiting the oven...

After.  Look at all that crispy skin!

Splay out that bird on a baking sheet (rimmed, of course) and
retrieve your butter mixture.  Slather that stuff all over the top of the bird...make sure you get all the exposed skin with it...trust me.  Season with a little salt and pepper.

Both the potatoes and the chicken can go in together.  In about 30 minutes, remove the potatoes and stir them around so they get crisp on all sides and return to the oven.  Continue baking for another 15-30 minutes.  You'll know your chicken is finished when the thigh meat registers a temperature of 165 degrees and the juices run clear.  Carve it up and serve it along side those tasty taters and a fresh green salad.  YUM!

You can't tell me that doesn't look tasty!

Oh, and bonus...you can squeeze the lemon juice from that lemon you zested earlier over pretty much the entire meal and it gives it a little extra zip!



Ingredients:
1 whole chicken
2 tbsp butter, softened
1/2 c parsley, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
zest of 1 lemon
4-6 red potatoes, cut to 1" pieces
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp thyme
Salt and pepper

1.  Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.  Rinse and pat dry the chicken, removing everything from the cavity.  Spatchcock if desired and place on baking dish.

2.  Combine butter, parsley, garlic, and lemon zest.  Mix well and slather on bird.  Season liberally with salt and pepper

3.  Toss potatoes in olive oil, thyme, salt and pepper.  Place in separate baking dish.

4.  Bake together for approximately 1 hour or until internal temperature reaches 165 degrees and juices run clear.  Stir potatoes at 30 minutes and return to oven for the remainder of the hour.

Lighter Banh Mi Wrap

When I lived in Tampa, there was a little deli down the road from my office.  I usually got something pretty vanilla...ham and cheese, maybe french onion soup...but one day a friend talked me into trying their specialty...the Banh Mi sandwich.

Now, Banh mi actually refers to the type of bread used to make this delicious Vietnamese sandwich.  But since I'm watching my carbs and overall, just trying to be healthier, I decided to take the same flavors I found in that delicious sub and incorporate them into something that was permissible in my diet.

I've made this a few times now, and I think I've finally got it down to where we like it.  To lighten it up, I use either fish or chicken and I use a low carb wrap.  This makes an excellent lunch, but I would recommend packing the ingredients separately and assembling it right before you're ready to eat.

Ingredients (Makes 2 Servings):
2 low carb tortillas
2 cups chopped romaine lettuce
1/4 cup shredded purple cabbage
1 radish, thinly sliced
2 tbsp vinegar (I like to use white wine vinegar, but apple cider vinegar works well too)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar substitute (I use Splenda)
2 tbsp mayo**
1 tbsp Siracha
2 fillets fish (tilapia, preferably) OR 2 small chicken breasts (boneless, skinless)
Old Bay seasoning or Cajun seasoning
Vegetable oil
2 tbsp cilantro, julienned
Optional ingredients:
onion, thinly sliced (green onions are lower in carbs, but regular ones will be fine if you use them sparingly)
hot pepper, thinly sliced (jalepeno, cayenne...whatever floats your boat!)

Fish

1. In a small bowl, combine cabbage, radish, vinegar, salt, and sugar substitute.  Mix well and set aside.
2. In another small bowl, combine mayo and siracha.  Mix well and set aside.
3. Rinse your protein and pat dry with paper towels.  Season both side liberally.  I use Old Bay for the fish and Cajun or even Jerk seasoning for chicken.
4.  In a medium skillet, heat oil to medium high heat.  Pan fry fish/chicken until cooked through.  Fish usually takes a couple minutes on each side.  Chicken will take a bit longer depending on thickness.
5.  While the meat cooks, assemble the wrap.  Drain the cabbage-radish mixture well and pile atop the wrap along with the lettuce and onion.
6.  Add meat to the wrap and drizzle with the sauce and garnish with cilantro and peppers.  Wrap and enjoy!

Chicken

  If you're still in the Induction phase of your low-carb diet, I would recommend forgoing the wrap and subbing in another cup of lettuce and eat this as a salad.  You can thin the sauce with a bit of water to make it a delicious dressing!

I will tell you, while this does incorporate a lot of those wonderful flavors from the original sandwich, if you ever have the opportunity to try the real deal--do it!  They're so delicious!  I hope you enjoy this lighter version.  If you have any ideas for foods that you'd like to see a low-carb version of, please submit it and I'll find one and post my findings!



**When on a low carb diet, high fat items such as mayo are OK.  However, if you're not on a low carb diet and just want a lighter overall recipe, omit the mayo and just drizzle the wrap with Siracha.  Just be cautious...it's hot!

Crock Pot Ribs

Every once and a while I get a craving for some fall-off-the-bone-good BBQ.  However, it seems that (around here at least) to get good BBQ, you're going to pay a pretty penny for it.  Even the guy who sells ribs out of a trailer/smoker thing charges $20 for one slab of ribs!  Since I'm not made of money, I figured I ought to figure out how to satisfy my craving at home.  I've heard about people doing ribs in the crock pot, but I'd never tried it, so my good friend, Bobby, and I put our heads together and came up with this recipe:

1 slab of pork spare ribs

1/2 cup seasoning of choice*

1/2 cup 'flavor makers'**

1/2 cup water

1 bottle of BBQ sauce of choice

Rub down the entire rack of ribs with your seasoning.  If you have a really large slab, you may want to use more than a half cup.

Rubbed down!

Put the water and 'flavor makers' in the bottom of the crock pot.  Add ribs (mine were too large to do in one layer, so I just folded them over to make them fit).  Cover with lid and turn the crock pot on low.

Let roast for about 8 hours.  

Ready to Roast!

Line a baking sheet with foil for easy cleanup and CAREFULLY remove the ribs to your covered baking sheet.  Mine were falling off the bone so I had to use a large spatula to scoop them out.  Cover in your BBQ sauce and pop them in a 350 oven for 10-20 minutes (watch them and pull them out when the sauce begins to caramelize but don't let it burn.)

Before

After

Serve hot and enjoy with a light summer salad!

*Seasonings*

I used a rub made for pork but you can use Cajun seasoning, jerk seasoning, basic salt and pepper with a little cumin...whatever floats your boat.

**Flavor Makers**

"Flavor Makers"

OK so this one REALLY makes a difference.  I've actually done this recipe twice now to get it perfect and I tried something different each time.  You've gotta add a little something into that water to give the meat flavor.  You can use just about anything your little heart desires.  The first time, I used tri-colored peppers and onions that had been sauteed (they were actually left overs from dinner the night before but had great flavor).  The second night I chopped up an onion, threw in a spoonful of minced garlic and a splash of soy sauce.  The flavor of these things really gets into the meat!  You could do chipotle peppers if you like a spicy flavor or you could do liquid smoke if you want the smokey flavor without the smoker!

These were SOOOOO good!  I'll definitely be making these more often now that I know it's so easy!  Be sure to use foil on your baking sheet, though...it's so much easier to just throw that away than to scrub at stuck-on BBQ sauce!