Roasted Chicken and Vegatables

You can’t go wrong with chicken.  Fried, Grilled, Poached or Roasted , it all hits the spot!  I love fixing a big Sunday Dinner and enjoying it with family and friends.  One of my favorite chicken recipes is a simple roasted chicken dish.

Each part of the chicken cooks differently and has a different flavor.  For my money I don’t think you can go wrong with legs and thighs.  I know breast meat is “leaner” but it’s also lacking a lot of flavor, dries out easily and is over priced…

Give me a nicely roasted thigh any day!  Be sure to brine the meat for even more flavor.

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup kosher salt
2 TB of Adobo Seasoning
2 TB of your favorite dried herb (I like Thyme)
2 TSP Onion Powder
2 TSP Garlic Powder

Chicken leg quarters (one per person) or individual legs/thighs.

2 medium Onions quartered
3 pounds Fingering Potatoes washed (or larger potatoes quartered)
8oz Mini-Bella mushrooms quartered
5 Carrots peeled/roughly chopped
2 Bell Peppers chopped & seeded
(Substitute any vegetable you prefer)

Olive oil
Salt
Pepper

PREPARATION:

  1. Mix the brine well. Soak the chicken in the brine for 4-6 hours in a non metal container covered in the fridge.
  2. Pre-heat your oven to 400-degrees and prep the vegetables.
  3. Combine your vegetables with a little oil.  Add salt/pepper to taste & set aside.
  4. On your stove heat a small amount of oil in a dutch oven or other heavy pot.
  5. Remove the chicken from the brine and pat dry with paper towels.
  6. Once the oil begins to smoke place the chicken in the pot skin side down.  This will enhance the browning process of the chicken and add more flavor the roasting vegetables.
  7. Brown the chicken on both sides and remove to a plate.
  8. Add the mixed vegetables and place the browned chicken pieces on top.
  9. Please in the 400-degree oven (uncovered) for 35-40 minutes or until the chicken juices run clear.
  10. Let rest for 10 minutes and enjoy!

My Kindle – Finale

Continued from part 2

Back in December I started writing about the new amazon Kindle eBook reader I purchased.  It’s been about 6 weeks and I thought I would do a follow-up post.

Although I have not had as much time to read as I would have liked, I’ve spent considerable time with the Kindle in a lot of different environments.  My favorite place to read is the comfy leather chair in my living room illuminated by a 40w bulb in the Pharmacy Floor Lamp.

When not curling up with the Kindle at home I’ve done some reading while riding in a car, enjoying a quiet lunch at the cafe near the office and in my second home, the hotel.  The Kindle performed well everywhere and the wireless connectivity never missed a beat.

By making use of the ample storage in the Kindle I always have something available to read.  Fiction, history, newspapers and technical manuals have all found their place on the device.  I currently have around 200 titles loaded and I’m not even close to making a dent in the memory.

If you are looking for some classic reading you can’t go wrong with Project Gutenberg.  All of the titles here are public domain (free).  You get what you pay for though as several titles I have obtained from here had some typo & formatting issues.  Overall it’s a great place to pickup some good reading materials.

Another tool I have found for the Kindle (and just about every other eReader out there) is a software application called Calibre.  Calibre is an eBook Management tool that allows you to catalog, edit and convert electronic documentation into the format needed for your particular eBook reader.  You can use Calibre to upload and download books to/from your devcice as well.  it’s an OUTSTANDING piece of software that the developer, Kovid Goyal, offers for FREE!  If you like the software you are encouraged to make a donation to help with future development.

I hope this brief 3-part review of the Kindle gives you additional information on this amazing piece of technology.  If you love to read you’ll love the Kindle!