Roast Chicken with Smothered Potatoes

Tonight, I cut up my first chicken. I always thought that cutting up a whole chicken was hard work, and it's tricky when you don't know what you're doing. Then I thought, if the Amish can do it, then so can I. You could buy a chicken that is already cut into pieces if you are in a hurry, but make sure that the chicken is on the bone and has the skin on it, or this recipe won't work.

According to the recipe, here's how to cut your chicken. We're basically just cutting it in half and leaving each breast & thigh attached. Find the backbone and cut alongside it with your knife. You'll see a little bone sticking out of the hole in the chicken (where the head used to be)....that's the bcckbone. Once you've cut along one side of the backbone, then cut along the other side and remove it completely. Next, remove the bag of giblets from inside the chicken. Now cut through the middle of the chicken making two big halves (see pictures below and you'll understand).

Roasted Chicken with Smothered Potatoes:
1 - 3lb frying chicken
3 Tablespoons olive oil
2 onions, chopped
8 new potatoes, quartered
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tablespoon fresh rosemary, chopped (I used about 3 stalks)

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees
2. Grease a 9x13 baking dish
3. Cut the chicken into two pieces
4. Place potates in the middle of the baking dish and surround with the onions
5. Salt and pepper potatoes and onions
6. Sprinkle garlic and rosemary over potatoes
7. Rub chicken halves with olive oil, salt, pepper, and rosemary
8. Flatten chicken over the top of the potatoes
9. Roast for 45-50 minutes or until the skin of the chicken is golden brown


Step 1:

Step 2:

Finished Product: