I've made chicken this way lots this past year, and I thought I'd show you how I spend just a few minutes in the kitchen, and then end up with a great main dish. I call it, "Fast and Easy" because, well, it's fast and easy. Not due to the chicken being of loose morals. Not that any chicken really cares about that. We have chickens, and believe me, the only morals they have are loose. But enough of that. I get my trusty hand pruners and go out to my rosemary plant, and whack off 2 or 3 pieces of rosemary.
This is the beginning of the season, and you can tell by the somewhat overgrown nature of our plant that I haven't been doing much cooking recently with rosemary. That will change as the nice weather continues. In fact, we had used so much last year, that hubby planted two more bushes. Yippy! So, wash the sprigs off really well, and let them dry a little. Wash the chicken, take out all the innards, and then salt and pepper it. Put the chicken in a roasting pan, and then poke the rosemary in the cavity. Bake, covered, for about 1 1/2 hour, at 350. Depending on how big the chicken is, it might not take that long.
This is the chicken ready to go into the oven. Unfortunately, after it was done, I hesitated for a matter of moments, and there was nothing left but a carcass. Sorry. But it was awesome.
I love to garden. And not just that, but I love to cook. They sort of go hand in hand. Because of that, we have a ritual here on the weekends. Either on Saturday or Sunday, I will make some sort of scramble with whatever is in the garden. I'll throw in some cheese, a few eggs, and then make some toast. If we have fruit, I'll put that on the side of the plate also. That's all great, right? It's healthy, filling, and it's something I'm good at. But here's the kicker. I've been cooking for a long time......for lots of big eaters. I learned to cook 30 years ago for a family of 5, and for the last almost 20 years, I've been cooking for boys. Boys eat alot. So what I'm trying to get at, is I haven't cooked for only one or two people for ..... ever! The breakfasts I cook now on the weekends are usually just for hubby and I, since David is normally doing his own thing. So now, I really don't want to relearn how to cook. I'm comfortable and, well, maybe a little lazy. Maybe. Oh, I've tried to scale down, just this one meal for now. But look at this. This is my breakfast after I've worked on it for about 10 minutes!
I try to start with a smaller amount of veggies. I'm only using 2 eggs each, and just a smidgen of cheese, but the whole thing seems to grow when I turn my back. What gives? Should I be trying harder? Is it really possible to cook a small amount? Should I learn to eat leftover "garden scramble?" Maybe the dogs should get a weekend treat? I'm still mulling over the whole thing.
