Mmm, Rosemary Chicken & Baked Apples

     Now that my husband is back home, I have to cook again & I'm buying more groceries. I was watching a cooking show on PBS's Create. Got me wanting a roasted chicken with potatoes.

     I am a fan of brining chicken and turkey. It moistens the meat and helps withdraw the blood. For chicken, I just use salt, but for a Thanksgiving turkey I like to use salt and a combination of bay leaves and other herbs and soak for several hours. There are many brining recipes on the internet.

     After patting the bird dry, I slip my hand under the skin and loosen the connective tissues. Then I mixed butter, olive oil, minced garlic, and herbs. I used rosemary and oregano this time, but you can use any kind you like. Take plenty of the paste and spread it under the skin of the legs, breast, etc. Rub some all over the outside too.

     Cut the potatoes in bite size pieces and put on the bottom of a 9X13 baking dish. Stir around some olive oil. Place the chicken on top of the potatoes and bake at 350 for 1 1/2 hours. The juices from the chicken will flavor the potatoes. So good!

 

     Someone made rolls for me the other day. Went great with this. Heh, I ate two while making dinner.

 

Grean beans went well with this.

 

 Yes, it was as good as it looks.

      I had some apples hanging around. Since I couldn't use the oven because the chicken was in it, I remembered I had this OLD microwave cookbook.

 

     I remembered there was a baked apple recipe in it. Haha, turns out it's on the kid recipe page, where kids could use the microwave to cook for themselves. I didn't use the ingredients in the recipe, other than the apples. I just needed the cooking settings/times.

 

     I cut the cores out of the apples, but left the bottom in tact. I wanted to use more than red hot candies. I mixed together  LOTS of brown sugar, butter, chopped pecans, ground cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg. and stuff it in the the apples. I am not a fan of mega amounts of nutmeg. I like just a hint of the flavor. Cover with waxed paper and microwave on high for 3 minutes. Check the apples for tenderness. I needed to microwave for 3 more minutes.

 

Oooo, here we go.

     Just a little nutmeg side note: Of course you can buy ground nutmeg in spice jars at the grocery store, but I like to grind/grate mine as I use it. Have you seen these nutmeg "kits"? The whole nutmegs come in a jar with a little grater. I've had mine for years, I mean YEARS, and just replace the nutmegs as needed. These kits can be found in cooking stores. I don't think I've seen them sold in grocery stores, but maybe I just haven't paid much attention. (Not an uncommon thing.)

Oooo, Look at that! Which one will I choose?

   Yep. It had to be you. Wonderful You. It HAD to be YOU!

I added a little whipped topping, and whoa! Waaayyy too good. This is a fast and fabulous recipe.