Valencia Orange Roasted Chicken

A couple of weeks ago I was inspired by Julia Child in the Melody Sheep video where they make her sing. There’s a part where she says the test of a good chef is a roast chicken. The lemon, the rosemary, the garlic…What treat. Well…So I did just that and it was amazing! My 3 kiddos even enjoyed it! Only problem is…The second time I tried to make this so my husband could have some (he tried the 1st one and actually liked it!) I was out of lemons! I used it to scrub a really dirty old pan and forgot that I needed it for my chicken. So what did I do? Say it with me everybody! I made it up!

Here’s what you’ll need:

• 1 (4 to 5 pound) Whole Free Range Chicken (Or do the best quality you can afford.)
• 1 Large Organic Valencia Orange
• 1/2 of an Organic Yellow Onion (White would work fine as well.)
• Fresh Garlic (Use as much as you like. I used two huge cloves.)
• Fresh Basil Leaves
• 1/4 to 1/2 cup White Wine
• Olive Oil
• Salt and Pepper (Omit pepper for AIP.)

Preheat your oven to 325 Degrees Fahrenheit.

Take your bird, open it up, and make sure you rinse it. Pull out the organ meat package. If you don’t want to use it right now, throw it in the freezer and use later. You can check out my chicken giblet gravy here: https://acommonsensecook.wordpress.com/2014/12/15/chicken-giblet-gravy/ if you try a different version that you think it would pair well with. Waste nothing! If you know how to remove the wishbone from the chicken, this will make carving easier, but isn’t necessary.

Throw that lovely bird into a deep roasting pan, casserole, or dutch oven. Cut the orange in half and squeeze that lovely juice all over the top of the chicken. Add the rind into the chicken cavity with the garlic. Pour olive oil, and sprinkle torn basil leaves, salt, and pepper on the exterior of the chicken. If you want, remove the very tip of the chicken wing and fold it on itself.

Put your bird in the oven uncovered for 2 hours or until a meat thermometer reads 160 degrees Fahrenheit and the juice, when pierced, runs clear. When it’s done, carefully remove this onto a platter and allow it to cool before slicing.

This plate is a bit of a mess…But this was after a Fit Camp workout. I was a little more than hungry. I had a smidgen of rice with chicken and sauteed onions. The onions were cooked with my typical Asian combo, which I also put on the squash that I roasted. Plus some cool cucumber on the side. We have to live up to that #MoreVegetablesThanaVegetarian hashtag, right?

I hope you enjoy this recipe. I am so happy to have impressed my three little ones and my husband. Nothing feels better than having four happy people after supper (five if you include myself). Try it out. If you do, make sure to come by the Facebook page and share your experiences with me. I’m sending you juicy, amazing chicken from my Common Sense Kitchen to yours. Come back on Manic Monday where I try to share some of my quicker recipes to get you through any case of the Mondays (even if it isn’t Monday).

-Ami M. Lee, Making It Up All the Way, Chicken Loving, Family Satisfy’n, Common Sense Cook