I love recipes that don’t take a lot of hands on time and are yummy. I also love recipes that make leftovers to resuse in a different, creative way. So, when I discovered how to make a perfectly roasted, delicious chicken, with little hands on time, that I can stretch throughout a few meals, I got really excited.

I have 6 mouths to feed (yes 6 now, as baby girl has discovered home cooking!) I’ve been on the hunt for clever ways to stretch our ingredients to cover major components of a couple meals. As many people know, a whole chicken is a great value! For a few bucks, I have enough meat to last 2-3 meals (depending on my family’s hunger radar), and I have the materials to make a ton of homemade chicken stock to freeze for soups, stews, and chili for weeks to come.

I have tried many roasted chicken recipes. Some of them were good, but not “wow!” Well, thanks to Mr. Michael Symon, I have found the recipe! Here it goes!

Michael Symon's Roasted Chicken with Sweet Potatoes and Sage

ingredients

1 3 to 4 lb chicken

1 Tablespoon kosher salt

1 onion (peeled)

3 sweet potatoes (cubed)
Drizzle olive oil

3 tablespoons cumin seeds

2 celery root (peeled and cubed)

1 small bunch fresh sage

A day before cooking, rinse the chicken inside and out under cold water and pat dry. Salt it liberally, cover, and refrigerate. Remove the chicken from the refrigerator an hour before cooking it. Preheat the oven to 425˚F.

Combine butter and sage, rub under the skin. Put the onion in the cavity of the chicken.

Toss the celery roots, potatoes, cumin, olive oil, salt and pepper.

Put the chicken in an ovenproof saute pan or in a roasting pan, breast side up on top of sweet potatoes and celery root. Slide it into the oven, and roast it until the thigh reaches 160˚F or until the cavity juices run clear, about 1 hour.

Remove from the oven and let rest for 10 to 20 minutes. Cut the chicken into 8 pieces and serve with the vegetables.

(the first time I made it, my husband insisted we take a picture! His love language is food too!)

You can use the leftover chicken to make chicken noodle soup, tostados, white chicken chili, enchiladas…the possibilities are endless!

If you’ve never made chicken stock before, you must try it! It’s so easy (but a little gross if you’re squeamish). Just save the carcass, bones, and any extra scraps from the roast chicken and add it to a large stock pot. Slice some carrots, onions, and celery and season it with salt and pepper (and anything else you'd like). Fill the pot to the top with water. Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer for 4-6 hours. Strain the liquid into a container, and voila! You can pour the stock into ice cube trays and once frozen store in a Ziploc in the freezer for whenever you need stock.

1 Roasted Chicken = Dinner tonight, leftovers for tomorrow, and stock for the next 2 weeks (at least!)

Do you have double/triple duty recipes to share?