Easy Roast Chicken

I like when Sundays end on a relaxing note. By that I mean laundry done and folded, meal prepped, and I am lounging with a cup of tea in a clean apartment, preferably with a fragrance of burning incense stick. That’s not a whole lot to ask for right..this girl’s gotta get ready for Monday because I know how you all feel about Mondays too. Even though I typically don’t eat meat on Mondays (#teammeatlessmonday), I want to get into the habit of roasting chicken every other week or so to make my meal planning easier. Roasted chicken has a very therapeutic effect on me (must be the butter and garlic) which is why they made it on my “Healthy Kitchen Staples” list…but seriously, roasted chicken is not any chicken – it’s a gateway to many possibilities such as soups, tacos, salad, pizza, sandwich. I am sharing a Easy Roast Chicken + many recipes that involves chicken (obviously) as a part of Recipe Redux Challenge “We’re all about cooking once and eating twice”.

Most of my lunch involves leftover dinner so I am totally game for cooking once and eating multiple times throughout the week – it just makes meal planning simpler (and cheaper) which I am all for.  Did I tell you it’s such an effortless process? I literally slapped some butter, sprinkled salt, pepper, and threw in some herbs and lots of garlic in the pan then I went on a walk with Bailey, made me some tea, and woke up from a nap…just in time for the roasted chicken.

You can roast your chicken in a baking pan or use a cast iron skillet; I  have used both in the past with great success, just cover it with some aluminium foil while baking. If you want a little charred color, remove the foil 10-15 minutes before it is done.

I loosely follow this method when roasting a chicken – for about 3-4 lb chicken it usually takes me 50-55 minutes until it’s cooked. Always make sure the internal temperature gets to 165F and allow it to rest for 10-15 minutes after it is fully cooked. You may enjoy the chicken by simply carving it or shred them so you can enjoy it in different recipes. Shredded chicken will keep for about 5 days in the fridge or can be frozen for up to 3 months.
Some of my favorite ways to enjoy shredded chicken includes:

Chicken Noodle Soup : I don’t follow an exact recipe but if you are interested I could measure it next time and share on the blog. Let me know. 

Shredded Chicken Salad:

You can enjoy them alone or enjoy it with bread. 4 Ingredient Chicken Pasta Casserole via Brunch Time Baker.

Use it as a topping for pizza.

If you are into Mexican food, give this open faced chicken tostadas with shredded chicken.

Shredded chicken goes really well in these patties.

Better than Takeout Chicken Fried Rice via Recipe Critic is always on point.

I hope this inspires you to roast a chicken this weekend and make yourself many meals throughout the week. For more ideas, check out what other reduxer’s upto this month!

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