This will be another recipe like the Spaghetti Sauce trio. Those of you with a larger family–like mine—won’t have much of this left. For the ones with smaller families, you’ll have leftovers–let’s not waste them. Here are two recipes. The first one will be for people that have at least 1 1/2 hours or more to cook dinner. The second will be for those of you who do not have that time but still would like to have baked chicken.

Baked Chicken

1 whole chicken

1 onion–peeled and rough chopped

2 celery ribs–rough chopped

2 carrots–rough chopped–don’t have to peel

you may need a few more veggies–wait and see–I’ll explain

1 lemon–quartered

1 orange–quartered

salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, Italian seasoning, Dale’s seasoning

softened butter

flour

First make sure the chicken is thawed and rinsed well. Place on paper towels, back facing up, and dry off the excess water. Pour a small amount of Dale’s over the chicken and rub it in. Rinse your hands! Remember to always wash hands when messing with raw chicken. Now sprinkle with salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, and Italian seasoning. Next, turn chicken up on its end. You want the large opening facing up–this is the bottom end. Sprinkle inside with salt and pepper. Place a few pieces of the onion, celery, carrots, 1 or 2 pieces of lemon and orange all inside the cavity. push it down good. The remaining veggies place into a roasting pan. If you don’t have enough veggies–cut some more. You want a bed to place the chicken in. Save the remaining citrus.

Place the chicken into the pan seasoned side down on top of the veggies. Now repeat all the seasons for the top side. Take the remaining citrus and squeeze the over the top of the chicken. You will need to cover the chicken. I use a cast iron pot with a lid. If you don’t have this–any pot will do–as long as it is oven safe. Take aluminum foil and tent it over the chicken. try not to let it touch the chicken as this will stick and will remove some skin. Bake in a preheated oven at 350 degrees for 1 1/2 hours. The temp on the chicken should be about 160 degrees.

Remove from oven and place on a platter to cool before slicing. If you strain the remaining juices–those left in the pot–you can make a gravy for the chicken. Put the juices into a small pot. And then in a saucer or small bowl, place 2 tablespoons butter, softened, and 2 tablespoons flour and mash together with a fork. Stir into the sauce and keep stirring until smooth. You may need to add a small amount of water so it will be thinner. Some like thick and some like thin. Taste after it had cooked on medium low for 10 minutes to see if you need to add salt or pepper–or anything else.

The gravy is great on top of the chicken but you don’t need it. While the chicken is cooking you can prepare your side dishes. Slicing is up to you–I cut mine different and one day I will post it. I cut mine into pieces–not slices. Let the chicken cool before placing the leftovers into the fridge. Enjoy!

Baked Chicken in a Crock Pot

Now for ya’ll who will be using a crock pot to cook the chicken. Start preparing the chicken–seasonings and all–just like for the oven. Even place the veggies on the bottom of the pot. Place the chicken into the slow cooker and turn on low. When you get home and get ready–remove the chicken from the cooker. If the skin is not browned like you want, just preheat the oven to 450 degrees and place the chicken in there until browned. This will probably take 10 minutes–maybe less. You can also still use the gravy recipe. Make sure when the chicken goes into the oven that you have it on an oven safe platter. I would use a cookie sheet. You still need to let it cool before slicing. If you slice right away, the juices from the chicken will run everywhere and you will have dry chicken. Also, if the chicken is almost done–it will finish cooking while it sits. If you cut it too early, it won’t finish and you will have raw chicken. Look for the following recipes to use the leftover chicken. Enjoy!