Chicken....two ways!

Since I seem to only update the blog about once a month, I figured I had better get on it since I am running out of time for October! It's been a hectic month, but more about that in another post (maybe!).

On Sunday I roasted a whole chicken which provided for a wonderful meal not only on Sunday evening, but also gave me enough leftover chicken to use later in the week in home-made chicken and noodle soup. Although the recipes came from two different sources, I am "pairing" them together in a cookbook so I can always use them around the same time (until we get to the point that a whole chicken is consumed by our family for one meal...but that is still a LONG way off!). Both meals were perfect for the cold weather we are now having in Wyoming...we just saw our first snowfall early this week!

Herbed Roast Chicken (ToH Magazine)
One 2-gallon resealable plastic bag
1/2 cup orange juice
1/3 cup olive oil
2 Tbls butter, melted
1 Tbls balsamic vinegar
1 Tbls Worcestershire sauce
6 garlic cloves, minced
1 Tbls minced chives
1 Tbls dried parsley
1 Tbls dried basil
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp dried marjoram
1/2 tsp dried rosemary, crushed
1/4 tsp dried tarragon
1 roasting chicken (6 to 7lbs)

In the 2-gallon resealable plastic bag, combine the orange juice, oil, butter, vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, garlic, chives and seasonings. Add the chicken; seal bag and turn to coat. Refrigerate for 8 hours or overnight; turning occasionally. Drain and discard marinade. Place chicken on a rack in a shallow roasting pan. Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees for 2 1/4 to 2 3/4 hours or until a meal thermometer reads 180 degrees. Cover loosely with foil if chicken browns too quickly. Cover and let stand for 15 minutes before carving.

Home-made Chicken and Noodle Soup (adapted from Mother's Best cookbook)

3 large containers of chicken stock

2 cups finely diced carrots (about 3 large, peeled)

2 cups diced celery (about 4 stalks, ends removed)

2 cups cooked chicken

1 pound egg noodles, cooked

1 bunch fresh dill, chopped, for garnish

Heat chicken stock in large pot over medium heat until stock comes to a simmer. Add carrots and celery, simmer for 8 minutes or until fork-tender (or cooked to your liking, we prefer ours a little softer). Add cooked chicken to stock with vegetables and heat until chicken is warm. Place cooked noodles in soup bowl, ladle the chicken soup over the noodles. Garnish with dill. Makes 6-8 servings. **Feel free to add additional seasonings of your choice to the soup if you are not starting with well seasoned chicken.