Roasting chickens.

Last night my mother-in-law made dinner for the girls and Kirk and I went out for sushi. We are leaving for vacation tomorrow, and I am making a roasted chicken with vegetables and roasted sweet potato coins.

Roasting a chicken is one of my favorite things to cook. It's incredibly easy and produces a great meal that can be eaten for at least a couple of days. To make the chicken, preheat the oven to 425 and rinse the chicken. Make a paste with a couple tablespoons of unsalted butter, about 1/4 C. olive oil, kosher salt, a good amount of cracked pepper, juice from a whole lemon, and about a teaspoon of Greek Seasoning (you can use Italian Seasoning if you don't have the Greek). Mix it all together in a bowl.

With your index finger, separate the skin from the chicken breast side without tearing it. Pour 3/4 of the mixture between the skin and the meat, and rub the rest of the smear with the remaining mixture and an extra sprinkling of kosher salt.

Add a little water (about 1/2 C.) to the bottom of the pan and throw in a few carrots.

For the roasted sweet potato coins, peel 2-3 sweet potatoes and slice into about 1/4" thick rounds. Line a cookie sheet with foil and lay the sweet potatoes in the sheet so they don't overlap. Drizzle olive oil over the potatoes, and flip them over so they are coated on both sides. Sprinkle a little Lawry's Seasoning Salt over the potatoes.

Roast the potatoes on the lower rack of the oven and cook the chicken on the upper rack. The chicken does NOT have to be basted or covered. It takes about 45 minutes to cook. The potatoes need to be turned about 20 minutes into the cooking. They will take 40-45 minutes also.

I'm going to make an easy salad with hearts of romaine, celery and and tomatoes. One of my favorite ways to dress any salad is to use the juice from 1/2 a lemon squeezed directly over the salad with 1/2 c. olive oil and a couple pinches of kosher salt and pepper. Toss and serve.