Marcella Hazan's Roasted Chicken

2 3 1/2 lb chickens

1.29 lbs red potatoes

3 carrots

olive oil

2 lemons

4 tbsp butter

salt & pepper

Preheat the oven to 375*F. Wash each chicken thoroughly, inside and out, then allow to drain and rest for 10 min.

Roughly chop the red potatoes and carrots into large pieces, saving any scraps. On a 13-by-18-inch pan, place the potatoes and carrots around the edges. Cover with a few tablespoons of olive oil, plus salt and pepper. Wash the lemons well, then roll on a hard surface and puncture with a knife several times; set aside.

Place the chickens on the pan, breast side up and making sure the wings are tucked under, then put one lemon into each cavity. Carefully massage 2 tbsp butter on each chicken between the skin and breast meat without puncturing the skin. Liberally season the chickens with salt and pepper.

Cook the chickens for 160 min (20 min per pound, plus 20 min). Remove from the oven and allow the chickens to rest for 30 min before slicing.

Dinner: 2 chicken breasts & roasted potatoes and carrots

~Yields 2 servings.

Chicken Stock

After stripping the chickens of all their juicy meat, throw each chicken into a pot (or throw them into one jumbo pot if you've got it) with 10 cups of water each and food scraps from prepping the vegetables for the week (meaning dice up all the veggies now and store them in tupperware to utilize the left overs in the stock and for faster cooking later - except the carrots, just peel them and leave them whole since one needs to be grated later) and any preferred spices. Let the stock simmer for 4 hours. Strain the stock into several containers and refrigerate overnight. Before using, skim off the fat and save for cooking in the future by freezing. (and don't forget to save and freeze the chicken fat from the roast pan, too! It makes the best gravy base.)

Recipe printed from Le Grand Fromage: http://brielegrandfromage.blogspot.com/

URL to recipe: http://brielegrandfromage.blogspot.com/2009/10/eat-cheap-for-week-challenge.html