Slow-Roasted Lime Cilantro chicken

I'm excited. Very excited. I have opened up a whole new world for myself. What is that world? Chicken. Whole chicken. It's amazing. It's easy. They are relatively cheap. I love it.

While grocery shopping earlier this week, I stood in indecision staring at the whole chickens. I had never (ever) cooked one before. Ever. And I was, not gonna lie, slightly scared of it. It always seemed like they would be so difficult to cook, turning out either not done enough, or so dry you need to drink a gallon of water just to eat dinner.

However, swallowing down my fears, I grabbed one, stuck it in the cart and turned and walked away as fast as I could, in order to prevent putting it back. I was that scared.**Sarah...I now believe I know how you feel when faced with baking.**

I had come across this recipe for a slow roasted chicken at For the Love of Cooking and it looked so delectably delicious that I just knew I'd have to try it.


Slow Roasted Lime-Cilantro Chicken
Recipe and photos by Busy Nothings. Original recipe by For the Love of Cooking.
5 lb free range chicken
1-2 tbsp butter softened
2 tbsp fresh cilantro, chopped
1 lime, zest and juice
1 tbsp garlic powder (got to get some fresh asap!)
1/2 a sweet yellow onion quartered
Handful of cilantro including stems for stuffing
Sea salt and fresh cracked pepper, to taste

Preheat oven to 275 degrees. Wash the chicken and pat dry. Mix the cilantro, lime zest and garlic powder with the softened butter. Place the chicken on a roasting rack and rub some of the butter mixture over the back of the chicken. Cut the lime in half and squeeze half of it over the back of the chicken, then salt and pepper it to taste. Flip over the bird so it is breast side up, and carefully (very carefully) lift the skin over the breast and rub some butter mixture directly onto the breast meat. Rub remaining mixture over the rest of the skin of the bird. Squeeze the second lime half over the top of the bird and salt and pepper to taste. Stuff the lime halves, the onion, and the cilantro into the cavity. (If you have fresh garlic, toss some garlic cloves in there as well...).


Place a meat thermometer into the thickest part of the thigh, making sure not to touch the bone. Roast uncovered for 3 1/2-4 hours until the meat thermometer reaches 180 degrees. Let the bird sit for at LEAST 10 minutes before cutting.

Delicious! I can't wait to try this with other seasonings.

Chicken Tacos

As it is so close to payday, the supplies in my kitchen are running slightly low. It happens. I had two chicken breasts left and I wanted to use them, but really didn't feel like cooking a big meal. Since I wasn't feeling fried or baked, I decided to go with...Chicken Tacos!

It was super easy...First I chopped the thawed chicken into small, bite size pieces. Next I just tossed it into the pan with some olive oil, cumin, chili powder, red pepper flakes and some salt and pepper to taste.

My recipe called for a cup of lemonade, but I just used some organic lemon juice and water over the chicken and let it simmer. Once the liquid cooked down I was left with some delicious slightly spicy, slightly lemon-y tasting chicken.

Combined with some heated soft shells, cheese, salsa and home-made guacamole and topped with sour cream, these were a hit! My husband loved them and I wish I had had room for more than one!

I will definitely be making these again...with the addition of lime juice to the lemon juice...I think it will give it a good kick!

Cast iron and chicken nuggets.

There's something wonderful about a cast iron skillet. No joke! If you don't use one, you have no idea what you're missing. Today, I broke mine in.

Lunch was swift approaching, and I knew I had to make something, otherwise we'd end up eating leftover lasagna. Again. (Ok, ok, so I shouldn't have made such a big pan. I've learned my lesson.) So, I took out the chicken I had defrosted yesterday and stared at it in deep contemplation. Chicken nuggets! Aha!

Not only was I going to make chicken nuggets, I was going to make parmesan chicken nuggets. And not only were they going to be Parmesan chicken nuggets, they were going to be cooked on my new cast iron skillet.

It was so easy it is almost insane. All you do is take an egg, beat it up, dip the chicken in it, then dip the chicken in a mix of seasoned breadcrumbs (I used Italian) mixed with parmesan cheese and dried basil. Fry on skillet of choice, in some butter and oil, and BAM. You have lunch. Delicious lunch.

It really was tasty. And, for those wondering, parmesan cheese makes such a lovely crispy crust on anything you dip it in. My son is gobbling them down as I type. This is definitely a keeper.