a WHOLE roast Chicken

My mom should be proud! Growing up we ate a LOT of chicken. I think it's attributed to the fact that my mom really likes chicken, you could prepare it many different ways, and it was always pretty cheap (a whole chicken that is). Since being married, I have resorted to using the skinless, boneless chicken breasts when serving chicken for dinner. They are so easy, hardly any prep work, and just the right serving size for two. However, this past weekend some of our friends from Montana (the Menzie's) were passing through town and stayed with us for a night. I wanted to make something for dinner that wouldn't require a lot of prep work, dirty dishes, and would be fairly easy to clean up. I came across a recipe titled, "Simplest Roast Chicken with Lemon and Herbs." I figured it couldn't get any easier that that! Sorry, I wasn't able to get a picture of the perfectly golden brown whole chicken, but here's the recipe.

3/4 tsp plus 1 pinch Kosher salt
1/4 tsp plus 1 pinch ground black pepper
1 4lb chicken, rinsed inside and out and patted dry with paper towels
1/2 lemon
1/2 head of garlic
1 bay leaf
1 bunch of fresh tarragon
2 Tbl unsalted butter

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Put a roasting pan with rack in there to heat up. In a small bowl, stir together the salt and pepper. Cut off any lumps of fat you see around the neck of the chicken. Then balance the bird on the neck end and sprinkle the inside cavity with about half the salt and pepper mixture. Put the lemon half into the cavity, along with the garlic, bay leave, and about three quarters of the tarragon. Sprinkle the outside of the chicken with the remaining salt and pepper. Melt the butter. When you are ready for the chicken, open the oven and pull out the oven rack supporting the roasting pan. Put the chicken, breast side down on the rack and pour (or brush) half the butter over the chicken. Now close the oven door and roast for 40 minutes. Using tongs, turn the bird, breast side up, and pour the remaining butter over the breast. Continue roasting until a thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh reads 165 to 170 degrees, about 35-40 minutes longer; or about 1 hour and 15 minutes total cooking time.

Much to my husband's delight, we had leftover chicken that I picked off the bone and added to my mom's homemade egg noodles for dinner the next night!