Herb Roasted Chicken with Mashed Potatoes & Gravy

This dinner is my husbands favorite meal. The meal itself looks intimidating but really it's quite easy. I make this dish at least twice a month in the winter. We are only a family of three but I always roast two birds for leftovers. As for the mashed potatoes, I am the queen of potatoes. I could live off them, so you know my mashed potatoes are the best, YUM!


•Herb Roasted Chicken• 

Ingredients 

2 fresh whole chickens
1 stick of butter, softened
1 bunch of fresh rosemary, chopped
1 bunch of fresh sage, chopped
1 bunch of thyme, chopped
1 apple, quartered
2 lemons cut in half
1 yellow onion, quartered
2 cups of dry white wine
salt & pepper to taste


Directions 

I buy disposable foil pans big enough for one bird. This just makes clean up much easier! I always roast two birds so there are plenty of leftovers. Gather your herbs and chop all of them together. Loosen the chickens skin and place half of the chopped herbs under the skin of each chicken. Rub each bird with a half a stick of butter and sprinkle the rest of the chopped herbs over your chickens. Pour one cup of wine in each of the bottom of the foil tins. Chop two lemons in half place one of the chopped lemons inside the chicken cavity and the other chopped lemon in the foil tin. Quarter your onion and apple and place in the foil tin. Season your birds generously with salt and pepper. Cover your birds with foil and place both birds in a preheated 450˙oven. Bake your birds covered for 30 minutes. Remove the foil and continue to bake for another 45 minutes, basting now and then with the juices in the pan. Your chicken should be golden brown when finished cooking. Remove your chickens from the oven and transfer to a serving dish to let rest. Reserve one cup of the chicken drippings for your gravy.


•Mashed Potatoes•

Ingredients

6 Russet potatoes, peeled and chopped
2 quarts of chicken broth
2 cups of sour cream
1 stick of butter
salt and pepper to taste


Directions

Peel and chop your potatoes, place them in a large boiling pot. Add your chicken stock to the pot, your potatoes should be all the way covered by the broth. Boil your potatoes in the chicken broth, until completely tender. Drain about one cup of liquid off your potatoes and mash with one stick of butter and 2 cups of sour cream. Add salt and pepper to taste.


•Gravy•

Ingredients

1 cup of chicken drippings
1 cup of chicken broth
1 Tbs of flour
salt and pepper to taste


Directions 

In a large sauce pan on medium high heat add your chicken drippings. Add a tablespoon of flour to your drippings, stirring constantly cooking your flour for about two minutes. Add the chicken broth slowly, stirring constantly until thickened, serve.

Enjoy!

Raspberry Thumbprints

How about a virtual cookie swap? One of my dear childhood friends organized this fun recipe swap, thank you Kristen for including me. I love baking this time of year and one of my favorite Christmas cookies is the Raspberry Thumbprint. This cookie is a buttery shortbread that melts in your mouth with a chewy raspberry center. Head on over to the other yummy food blogs to find some of their favorite holiday cookies!


Kristen Gough, My Kids Eat Squid 

Brette Sember, Martha and Me 

Jodi Reinman, Garlic Girl 

Teresa Robeson, Raising Our Home  

Laura Davis, Del.ic.ious  (me)

Susan Johnston, Building Community Through Creative Food

Melanie McMinn, Frugal Kiwi 

•Raspberry Thumbprints•

Ingredients

1 stick of butter

1/3 cup of sugar

1/2 tsp. of vanilla

1/4 tsp. salt

1 egg yolk

1 cup of flour

1/4 cup of raspberry preserve 

Directions

In a mixer cream together butter and sugar, add the vanilla, salt and egg yolk. Beat this mixture until fluffy. Add the flour until the dough forms a stiff dough. Scrape the dough onto a large sheet of wax paper. Roll the dough until it forms a 12" rope that is 3/4" in diameter. Roll your dough rope up in the wax paper and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Remove your dough from the fried and let rest for 10 minutes at room temperature. Preheat the oven to 300˙. Unwrap and slice your dough into 1" slices, roll them into little balls and place them on an ungreased cookie sheet. Press your them into the center of each cookie ball, fill each hallow with 1/4 teaspoon of preserve. Bake your cookies until they are lightly browned, about 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and let them cool 5 minutes before taking them off the cookie sheet. 

Enjoy!

Turkey Meatloaf

These long winter months are sometimes tough to get through without eating heavy unhealthy foods known as, comfort foods. Here is a lighter, healthier version of a family favorite, Turkey Meatloaf. This recipe is full of flavor and really satisfies that need for a warm and hearty meal.

Ingredients

1 small yellow onion, chopped
3 large cloves of garlic, chopped
2 Tbs. olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
1 tsp fresh thyme leaves
2 Tbs. of Worcestershire sauce
1/2 cup of chicken stock
1 tsp tomato paste
1 1/2 pounds of ground turkey
1/2 cup of italian seasoned bread crumbs
1 large egg, beaten
1/2 cup of ketchup

Directions

In a medium pan saute chopped onion, garlic, salt, pepper and thyme in olive oil on medium heat until translucent. Add chicken stock, worcestershire sauce and tomato paste, mix well. Allow to cool. Combine your ground turkey in a bowl with the bread crumbs and one egg. Add onion mixture to your ground turkey once cooled. Mix well. Add your seasoned turkey to a lightly greased loaf pan. Spread ketchup evenly over the top of your turkey loaf. Bake at 375˙ for 1 1/2 hours or until meatloaf is cooked through. Serve hot.

Enjoy!