Happiness Is Roasted Chicken

My husband LOVES roasted chicken.  And I love to make it for him.  I usually just buy the bone-in legs and thighs because we both prefer dark meat, and there is just something primally satisfying about eating meat off the bone.  

The Meat

- 2 bone-in chicken legs with thighs

- 2 tablespoons of lemon juice

- 2 teaspoons bacon grease

- 1 tablespoon butter

- rosemary, thyme, savory, dill, salt, pepper to taste

The Veggies

- 2 yellow summer squash, sliced

- 1/2 cup of green beans, ends cut off

- 1 green gypsy pepper, sliced

- 2 red heirloom carrots, diced

- 1 medium sized turnip, cubed

- 1 cup water

- 1 tablespoon butter

- 1/2 cup red wine

- dill, salt, pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

I prepped my chicken on my baking pan by lightly coating them with lemon juice and seasoning them liberally.  Then I broke up the butter into small dollops and dotted the top of the chicken with it.  I repeated the process with the bacon grease (I keep my supply of grease refrigerated so it is in a more solid state, easier to manipulate for meals like this) and dot the spaces in between the butter with the bacon grease.  The chicken goes into the oven for around 40 minutes - make sure you get your chicken up to 165 degrees internally and that the juices run clear when you cut into it, so you don't get sick from undercooked meat.  At minutes 15 and 30, open up your oven, and re-spoon the grease/butter that has dripped off the chicken back onto the skin.  This ensures you have an intensely delicious crispy outer skin. 

After dicing, slicing, and cubing all of my veggies, I throw them in a pan and add the water, butter, and wine.  I cooked my veggies on medium-low heat for around 25 minutes, until most of the water had boiled down and the green beans and turnips were soft. 

This is a relatively simple yet absolutely wonderful meal.  The chicken is cripsy on the outside and juicy within, and the wine in the veggie "broth" gives the turnips and the beans a memorable flavor.  The squash melts away in your mouth.  Yum.