It’s less about being lazy and more about saving time to get identical results. Roast chicken is such a great place to start…it seems ominously difficult, but it’s actually incredibly simple, offering delicious nutrition to everyone at your table. You can even change up the veggies you offer with it, depending on the time of year. Since I’m writing this right around the start of fall, I went with an assortment of root vegetables that I place my chicken on and use as a rack. Enough of the hot air will still hit the bottom of the chicken, and you’ll want to flip the bird a couple of times to crisp up all parts of the skin.

I LOVE fall. Well, if we look at it from a big-picture perspective, I actually love transition seasons. They are these short times of year when you get to watch the seasons change, literally. In the Hudson Valley, and particularly where I live, you wake up one morning and look out the window to see a spot of bright orange, red, or yellow leaves on one or two of your trees. That spot grows every day until suddenly your yard resembles a Bob Ross painting, and it hits you that we are entering fall. That means winter is coming, so it’s time to start pulling out those sweaters and bust out the pumpkin spice. I’m also so excited to start making my favorite meals like soups and stews (leftover roast chicken is perfect for making the broth used as a base for most of these recipes). Plus, all of my favorite vegetables are finally in season. Garlic, squash, apples, beets, figs, spinach, kale, and brussels sprouts, just to name a few. Each has its own unique flavor that can be ramped up or the star of a dish, depending on how you decide to cook them. Let’s just say a fall veggie LOVES a long bake in the oven.

Not a brussels sprout fan? No problemo! I do want to push that you could limit yourself and miss out on some incredibly delicious dishes, though. Variety is the spice of life, so don’t limit yourself or your family to constant repeats of the same dishes, but you also don’t have to eat what you don’t want. Eating should be a pleasurable experience. Try something new, don’t turn your nose up at something because your kids (or partner) say they don’t like it. You’re not into squash? Have you ever stuffed it with bacon, Thanksgiving-style stuffing, and spices? Or made a vegetable soup balanced with chicken stock and topped with a splash of cream, a crispy sage leaf, and crispy onions? Seriously, try it, you might be surprised. Hearty veggies have excellent texture when cooked properly, and when you match them with savory flavors, there is a light richness and depth to those dishes that can truly warm your soul.

Now let’s get to the good part, chatting about chicken. As I said above, Fall offers up a chance to make all of my favorite dishes. Soups, stews, chilli (see my I Can’t Believe it’s not Beef Chilli recipe), and any large vegetable stuffed. I see you twice-baked sweet potatoes! I can’t stress enough that a type of dish that will truly shine during this time of year is roast chicken. It gives a wow factor without too much time, energy, or expensive pricing. A generally good rule of thumb to help you save at the grocery store is to stay out of the middle and mostly buy produce. Half of this dinner is veggies! AND if you live near a farm or have a local farmer’s market, you can save a ton by buying directly from the farmers. Major shoutout to Fishkill Farm and Titusville Farm!

I always try and mix up any of my recipes with seasonal produce because I can’t live without variety. Well, I probably could, but man, that would be incredibly boring. For this particular recipe, I used Marcella Hazan’s Oven Roasted Chicken with Garlic and Rosemary as inspiration, then made it my own. Garlic powder on the skin, dried rosemary in the cavity instead of fresh, because I (and probably you as well) always have it on hand. I do have this dream that I am mapping out as I write this, of turning a large part of my yard into a garden. I do plan to have a rosemary bush and will start using fresh rosemary when I can just walk out my front door to go get it. But your chicken will be outstanding regardless of what you have on hand. For example, if you don’t have rosemary, use thyme, Herbs de Provence, or a poultry mix you got at the grocery store a few weeks ago.

Ok, enough talking. Let’s get cooking.

Lazy Lady Roast Chicken