Roasted Chicken with Carrots and Potatoes

Comfort food is definitely my favorite type of food to have. Many things can be considered comfort, but a simple roasted chicken with veggies always hits a sweet spot in my tummy!

Now that school is back on, my schedule has gotten a bit more hectic. I have to come up with recipes that are easy and quick to prepare while making sure they are extremely delicious and a pleasure to enjoy. This recipe really hits a home run with my family. I leave it in a marinade for just a couple hours while at school, then in a really hot oven for around 45 minutes, and what comes out is absolutely delicious.

Now I choose to use chicken drumsticks or thighs when making these. First of all chicken drumsticks are everything a chicken breast isn't. They are deliciously flavorful all in itself, they do not dry out, they are very versatile, and extremely cheap.

Look at the price on these! $1.99lbs for organic chicken. Deal!!!!

Anyways, I should start out by saying that I have never made this recipe the same each time. (And I have made this a whole lot) I love this because it truly comes out wonderful every single time I make it. some times I use a dry rub, sometimes rosemary and lemon, sometimes I go even a little Asian with the soy sauce and green onions. The important thing to remember is to adapt the flavors to your own personal taste because it is truly difficult to mess this one up.

So lets get started by seasoning the chicken with a little salt and pepper. (Do not put a lot, we will season every step of this dish, so the whole thing comes out flavorful) Now put your chicken in a large Ziploc bag.

Now we have to cut up some veggies to go in the oven with the chicken and for the marinade as well.

So lets cube up a couple of large potatoes, and around 3 fat carrots. Slice about 2-3 celery sticks. Dice up one tomato. Dice up 1/2 of a large yellow onion, grab a bunch of cilantro, lemons, garlic, olive oil and balsamic vinegar. 

Add the potatoes, carrots and celery to your bag and season with salt and pepper.

Now lets make the marinade. In a food processor, add your tomato, cilantro leaves, garlic cloves, diced onion, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, juice of about 1 lemon, and season with salt and pepper. (Sometimes I add a dash of soy sauce, but be careful with your salt if you do decide to add the soy)

* Do not throw away your lemon after squeezing the juice out. Add the peels to  your chicken, they become extremely caramelized and yummy after going in the oven. 

Now add your marinade to the bag, get out all of the air, close the bag and get ready for some massaging! Now make sure you spend at least a couple minutes massaging the chicken and making sure the marinade is evenly distributed all over the chicken and veggies. In fact, you really wanna get in there good. If some one is watching you, I want it to look awkward!! That is how much you wanna massage the bag.

Now leave it in the fridge for a couple hours. 

(Sometimes, when I remember to do it, I come by the fridge once in a while to flip the bag and give a good mix)

After its been marinating for at least a couple of hours we are ready to start cooking. Around 1 hour before dinner time, Preheat your oven to 375'

Empty your bag into an oven safe dish large enough to accommodate everything in a semi single layer. Make sure the chicken skin is facing up (So it becomes crispy)

Now put this in your oven uncovered. Set your timer to 35 minutes. (The whole thing should take around 45 minutes to 1 hr to cook, but I want you to start checking on the chicken at around 35 minutes.)

Get ready for some torture as you wait, the whole house starts smelling soooooo good! Do not take it out of the oven too soon, please wait until the skin is crispy. It adds a whole other element to the dish.

Now this dish is great because it is a whole meal all in one. My boyfriend however has to have rice with almost anything he eats, so of course I had to make some. That is absolutely not needed though. 

Now for serving portions, I usually count 2 drumsticks per person just to make sure I have enough. Most of the time, because of all the veggies, it is more like one drumstick per person. The serving portions will all range from family to family. This night it was just my boyfriend, my boyfriend's mom,  and I so I made one package with 5 drumsticks. The recipe below will reflect the amount for what I made, but just double it up for a family serving. 

I really hope you try this recipe as it is fool proof. If my little sister can make it, ANYONE can make it! Trust me!

Ingredients:

• 5 drumsticks or thighs, bone in. (About 2 lbs)
• About 2 large potatoes, cubed (I used the real big russet potatoes)
• About 3 large carrots, cubed
• 2-3 celery sticks, diced
• Salt and pepper to taste

Now for the marinade:

• About 1/2 cup of cilantro leaves
• 1 diced tomato
• 1/2 onion, chopped
• 3-4 cloves of garlic
• About 1/3 cup of extra virgin olive oil
• About 1/4 cup of balsamic vinegar
• Juice of 1 lemon
• Salt and Pepper to taste
• 2-3 tblsp of soy sauce (Remember, sometimes I add it and sometimes I don't, be careful with your salt content)