A Lazy Girl's Roast Chicken ($3.58 each)

$3.58 each          76% savings          save $45.58 yearly

Roast chicken.

It's so misunderstood. The majority of people who contemplate preparing one seem to think of it as an intimidating, complex, scary undertaking that will require a week's worth of blood, sweat, and tears, fancy gadgets and professional trussing techniques.

I know. I was one of those people... till I finally "manned up" and did it 5 years ago.

It was one of the easiest culinary undertakings of my life.

Trust me on this one. All you really need is a bird, (...Without the neck or giblets, because who wants to mess with that gross-ness?) butter, and a few seasonings. Prep time = 5 minutes.

Ahem... (let me say that again in case you missed it)... FIVE MINUTES!!!

And, it's finger-lickin' good, which is always a plus.

AND it's cheaper than the "comes-in-a-BOX-sitting-on-a-warmer-all-day" chicken.

AND you get to control what goes on (and in) the chicken you are eating.

Roasting your own chicken is also super economical, and I'll tell you why:

1. You can serve part of it after it's finished roasting.
2. You can then remove the remaining meat for later use, and use the carcass to make a healthy stock.
3. You can then use the extra meat for chicken noodle soup (with your homemade stock), or chicken pot pie, or tacos, or burritos, or chicken salad, or any number of dishes requiring chicken.
4. You can go to your local grocery store and ask when they typically mark down their poultry. With that information, you can get to the store in time for some pretty sweet deals on some perfectly delicious birds. Exhibit A:

I scored two chickens for a great price! Plus, a 5-pound bird = 4 meals in my home. Pretty thrifty... just the way I like it.

Now, let me show you a little bit of what's going to happen during your FIVE MINUTES of prep time:

 

You are going to lay your chicken breast-side up in a roasting pan (or glass baking dish) and stuff several pats of butter underneath the skin of the chicken.

 

See those little pat of butter under the skin? They are going to make your chicken super-delcious.

Then, you are going take some spices, and rub them underneath the skin with the butter.

 

Finally, you are going to take more spices, rub them on the skin of the chicken, put the bird in the hot oven, then sit back and enjoy the smell of chicken roasting in your kitchen.

A 5-pound bird will take about 1 hour and 40 minutes to finish roasting.

But remember... prep time = FIVE MINUTES!!!

(Sorry about the photo quality below... I have exactly one lightbulb functioning in my kitchen right now, so if I take photos in the evening with no natural lighting from the sun, photos tend to be a little dark)

The end result: a perfectly delicious roasted chicken that beats out the chicken-in-a-box from the store. No blood. No sweat. No tears. No stress. No time consuming methodology.

Just easy-peasy goodness.

Enjoy!

Roast Chicken
Printable Version

(Note: The thyme, minced onion, and garlic powder are optional. Those are the seasonings my family enjoys... you could use a multitude of seasonings or just stick with the butter salt and pepper.)

INGREDIENTS
5 lb whole chicken (without the neck and giblets, and NOT frozen)
2 Tbsp butter (cut into 5-6 pats)
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp dried thyme leaves (opt.)
1 tsp. dried minced onion (opt.)
1/2 tsp garlic powder (opt.)

DIRECTIONS
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Combine the salt, pepper, thyme, minced onion, and garlic powder in a bowl.

Rinse chicken inside and out with water, and pat dry with paper towels. Place the chicken (NOT frozen) breast-side up in a shallow roasting pan. A 9x13 baking dish could work.

Insert the butter pats underneath the skin of the chicken, distributing them evenly. Rub 2/3 of the seasoning mixture beneath the skin of the chicken breasts, distributing as evenly as possible. Rub the remaining spices over the skin of the chicken. (You may choose to rub butter over the skin of the chicken as well, if you enjoy eating the skin of the chicken.)

Roast, uncovered, for 20 minutes per pound (or until the juices run clear or a meat thermometer registers 180 degrees when inserted in the thickest part of the chicken). Oven cooking temperatures vary, so monitor the cooking time as needed.

~ Savings ~

Cost Breakdown:
Twin bag whole chickens - $6.35 = $3.175/chicken = $3.175
1 lb butter - $2.50 = $0.078/T = $0.156
26 oz. salt - $0.44 = 122.75 tsp = $0.003/tsp = $0.0015
8 oz. black pepper - $3.84 = $37.75 tsp = $0.102/tsp = $0.026
0.62 oz. dried thyme - $4.98 = 19 tsp = $0.262/tsp = $0.131
8.25 oz. dried minced onion - $5.82 = 95 tsp = $0.061/tsp = $0.061
12.25 oz. garlic powder - $6.48 = 95 tsp = $0.068/tsp = $0.034
Total Recipe Cost - $3.58
Cost per Pound - $0.72

The Contender:
Kroger's Wholesome Home Roasted Chicken (2 lb.) - $5.99
Cost per Pound - $3.00

Savings: 76%

"Over a year" scenario:
Make 4 Roast Chickens = $14.32
Buy 10 Wholesome Home Roasted Chickens (2 lb.) = $59.90

*Money Saved = $45.58