Winner Winner Chicken Dinner

Here's my Mother's Day brunch menu and recipes. It was all so simple and could be done for any occasion. I was able to cook everything while talking with family and relaxing in the kitchen.

Winner Winner Chicken Dinner Menu

Roasted Lemon Chicken with New Potatoes, Carrots, and Onion

Croutons

  Caramelized Shallots

Mashed Cauliflower

Brussel Sprouts with Bacon

Carrot Cake

The thought of roasting whole chickens might seems a little intimidating - it definitely was for me - but I promise you it is the easiest way to impress whoever you're cooking for. I prepped the chickens the night before so all I had to do when I got home from church was throw em in the oven and let em do their thing.

Whole Roast Lemon Chicken

Ingredients

- 2 (5-6 lbs) roasting chickens

- 20 sprigs fresh rosemary

- 2 whole lemons

-2 heads of garlic

- salt and ground black pepper

- 1/2 stick melted butter

- 1 bag whole carrots

- 1 bag new potatoes

- 1 large yellow onion

- extra virgin olive oil

Directions

Preheat oven to 425 F. Peel carrots and quarter onion. Place onion, potatoes, and carrots in roasting pan and toss in olive oil, season with salt and pepper and sprinkle 5-10 sprigs of rosemary on top. Remove giblets from chickens and pat dry. Liberally salt and pepper inside of chickens and stuff each with quartered lemon, halved garlic head, and 5-10 sprigs of rosemary. Place chickens on top roasting veggies and brush with butter, the more the merrier, and then salt and pepper outside. Don't forget to tie chicken legs together and tuck wings for even roasting. Cook for 1 1/2 - 2 hours. Remove from oven and cover with aluminum foil and let rest for 15-20 minutes or so and enjoy!

In the top left hand corner you can see the croutons I made, inspired by Ina Garten, to go with the chicken. 

Homemade Croutons

Ingredients

-  1 loaf sourdough bread (or whatever you prefer) 

- extra virgin olive oil

- salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Cube bread and toss in olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Cook in pan over medium high heat and toss until golden brown.   

Brussel Sprouts with Bacon

Ingredients

- 1-2 lbs brussel sprouts

- 4 slabs thick cut bacon

- salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 F. Cube bacon and cook until crispy over medium high heat. Remove bacon from pan and place on paper towel. Toss brussels with remaining bacon fat and salt and pepper on a sheet pan and cook for 30-45 minutes. Garnish with bacon.

Caramelized Shallots

Ingredients

- 6 T butter

- 2 lbs shallots, peeled with ends removed

- 3 T sugar

- 3 T red wine vinegar

- 1/2 t salt and 1/4 t pepper

- parsley

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 F. Melt butter in oven proof saute pan and add shallots. Toss with sugar and cook for 10 minutes or until shallots start to brown. Then add vinegar, salt, and pepper and cook in oven for 15-30 minutes, depending on size, until soft. Garnish with parsley. 

Mashed Cauliflower

Ingredients

- 2 heads cauliflower

- 2 cloves garlic

- 1/4 stick butter

- salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Boil cauliflower until very soft, drain water and mash with potato masher. Make paste with garlic and add to cauliflower along with remaining ingredients. 

Classically Healthy Carrot Cake

The chickens were antibiotic and hormone free. To me it is very important to eat meat this way. I'm a pescatarian so the only way I prefer to eat meat is when it isn't full of hormones that are going to wreck havoc on my endocrine system. Also, I'm pretty vague on the salt and pepper because I usually add as I go. Seasoning is so important for flavor so be sure to taste as you cook - not too much tasting though or else your calorie count will skyrocket. Hope you try this menu out sometime or at least some of the recipes! I promise they taste great and whoever you're cooking for is going to love it! 

XOXO,

Claire