Roasted Lemon Chicken

Roasted chicken is so easy to make, and this recipe makes such a tender chicken with a lemony taste throughout.  I know I have said it many times before, but lemon makes everything better!  I always have some sitting on my counter.  A lot of recipes for roasted chicken say to place half a lemon in the cavity, but I really like lemon so I put slices of lemon in between the breast meat and the skin, along with some butter of course!  The breast meat was so juicy and delicious, and so was the rest of this chicken.  For the spice rub on the outside I used salt, pepper, paprika, and a bit of cayenne, but you could use any spices you think would go well.  

You can see the lemon slices under the skin.

Roasted Lemon Chicken

2-3 lb whole chicken

2 lemons

2 tbsp butter

Salt

Pepper

2 tsp paprika

2 tsp cayenne

Preheat oven to 400F.  Rinse the chicken inside and out.  Generously sprinkle the cavity with salt and pepper.  Cut one lemon in half and place both halves into the cavity.  Use your fingers to make a pocket in between the skin and the breast meat over both breasts.  This is done by starting at the cavity opening and slowly sliding your finger under the skin so that it doesn't rip.  You want to make pockets big enough for the lemon slices. 

 Insert 1 tbsp of butter into each pocket, massaging it around so that it covers as much area as possible.  Cut the second lemon in half.  From one half take a few slices off and slide them into the pockets, as much as you can fit without tearing the skin.  

Use the rest of the sliced lemon half to squeeze juice over the outside of the chicken.  Rub it around and then sprinkle generously with salt and pepper.  Sprinkle the paprika and cayenne over the bird and rub it all in, covering as much of the skin as possible.

Place the chicken in a roasting pan.  Cut the remaining lemon half into small wedges and tuck them under the chicken.  Roast for 50-65 minutes.  When it is cooked the drumsticks will easily twist off.  

Remove from the oven and let it stand for about 10 minutes before cutting into it.  This is so that the juices can re-distribute throughout the bird resulting in a juicier chicken.

Enjoy!

Avocado Soba Noodles

I have been wanting to try an avocado sauce over pasta for quite a while, and so when I found some Sweet Potato and Buckwheat Soba Noodles I knew exactly what I would make with them.  This is a really simple dish, and if you love avocados you will love this.  When I first came across a recipe for avocado pasta I was a little skeptical, but it was delicious.  I made my sauce with lemon and parsley, but you could also use lime and/or cilantro to replace either of those ingredients.  And of course you can use regular soba noodles, or even spaghetti if you prefer.  The colour is a bit off-putting, however once you taste it you won't care what colour it is.

Soba Noodles with Avocado

250g Soba Noodles

2 ripe avocados

1 lg clove garlic

1 tbsp lemon juice

1/4 cup parsley

Using a food processor mince the garlic and parsley, then add the avocado and lemon juice and puree.  Meanwhile cook the soba noodles according to package directions.  Drain and mix with the avocado sauce. Serve immediately and enjoy!

Zucchini and Sweet Potato Pilaf

I recently bought 3 beautiful zucchinis of different colours, but didn't know what I wanted to make with them.  Then I remembered this brown rice casserole that I have made a few times before.  I usually just make it with regular dark green zucchini, but I thought the extra colours would brighten the dish up more. This is a really hearty casserole that I like to serve as a side to fish, or on its own if I'm having it for lunch.  And with only 4 ingredients it's a convenient recipe to make.  

Zucchini and Sweet Potato Pilaf

1 1/2 cups of brown rice

2 1/4 cups vegetable broth

2 small zucchini, diced

1 sweet potato, diced

Preheat oven to 350F.  Mix all of the ingredients in a baking pan and cover tightly with aluminum foil.  Bake for 30 minutes.  Stir rice and vegetables and add a bit of water if necessary.  Cover tightly again and continue cooking for another 15-30 minutes.  Rice and sweet potatoes should be fully cooked.