Winner Winner Chicken Dinner!

Day  1: She was mildly pretty and picked us up: My cellmate and I, in the plastic bag that bound us. It was a long and frigid ride in the trunk of her car although it felt warm to me compared to the cooler that we were tossed into with the other coupled hostages. I felt lucky to be on the top at the time, not being squished by all the other bagged and thrown around ones in the cooler.

My thoughts ripped away from me by the blinding light as the trunk opened and I saw her standing there her hand seemed to be in slow motion as she picked up our bound lifeless forms and took us into, what I assume was her house. I didn’t notice before but she was being followed by a little midget that resembled her greatly. I chuckled to myself trying to block out the cold with humor, wondering if I had slipped into deep psychotic state and imagined I was in the spy spoof movie in which a tiny clone of this woman was made to follow her around.

She slammed me down on the clean counter and ripped the bag open taking my partner in crime to a large freezer and tossing him in like he was nothing but a chunk of meat. I was left there helpless for many hours until a man came into the house and sat down on a plush sofa. Now the midget was following him about. She picked me up by the secondary bag that kept my innards from spilling free and hung me upside down for the man to approve of. His nod was neither impressed nor unimpressed. Perhaps I should have been glad about this but I nearly longed for the chilly cooler back at my captors’ location.

Another long chunk of time had passed and then the man came and ripped the bag open, washing my flesh clean and well…I’d rather not talk about where he stuck his hand to rip out my innards. I prayed to God that I not feel nor remember this. Why was I left in this lifeless body as I realized I was in fact a whole fryer chicken ready to be eaten.

1 Fryer chicken butterflied

3-5 Medium Potatoes cubbed (Depending on your family size, cut up 1 potato for every member)

3-4 Carrots sliced (Depending on your family size, cut up 1 carrot for every member)

1 lb of halved brussel sprouts.

2 sprigs of fresh Basil (Stems removed)

Paprika to taste

Sea salt & freshly ground pepper to taste

Oregano to taste

Rosemary to taste

Olive Oil

Instructions:

Preheat Oven to 475. Toss vegetables and potatoes in olive oil. Place carrots and potatoes around the outside of a large cookie sheet or a cooking tray with a 1-2 inch vertical lip. Place halved brussel sprouts in the center along with the basil. Place the butterflied chicken over brussel sprouts and basil. Sprinkle with olive oil, paprika, sea salt, rosemary and oregano to preference and bake at 475 for 45 minutes. Then turn down the oven to 350 and bake for approximately 30 more minutes until meat thermometer reads at least 165, for safe consumption. Bon Appetite!

With the leftover chicken pick off all meat you can and store in freezer for future meals or the fridge for the next day’s dinner which will be included in my next post. Place bones, fat and gristle (and any vegetable left overs or tops, stems or any waste) into large stock pot with water and on medium high heat cook for a few hours then move to a simmer overnight or transfer to a crockpot on low. In the morning turn off and cool. When cooled down enough, place in refridgerator. Skim off fat and you have fresh and flavorful chicken broth!