Roasted Chicken and Vegetables

Its “Project Dinner” night in our house and one of my favorite things ever is the hubs roasted chicken with veggies (it was one of the first things things he ever made for me).  Super tastey, easy and cheap! Plus our house smells amazing and the dog can’t stop walking around smelling the air.

Ingredients:
1 whole roaster chicken
1 lemon cut in half
zest from the lemon
1 whole head of garlic cut in half (skin can stay on)
1 bunch of thyme
4-6 small red potatoes cut into quarters
3-4 large peeled carrots
2 onions cut into quarters
1/4 stick of butter melted

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Put the carrots, onions, and potatoes in the roasting pan and stir in the lemon zest, some of the thyme, and olive oil.

Veggies

Take the insides of the chicken out and rinse the chicken off. Towel dry the chicken and place it on the roasting racks. Inside the cavity place one half of the lemon first, half of the garlic head, the whole bunch of thyme, the second half of the garlic and finally the other lemon half. Using kitchen twine tie the legs together so that none of the insides fall out. Spread the melted butter on the outside of the chicken and season with salt and pepper. Flip the bird over and do the other side.

Seasoned

Place the chicken on the rack breast side down and place the entire roasting pan in the oven. Let it cook for 1 hour. After the hour, stir the veggies and turn the chicken over so it is breast side up.

Half way there....

Cook for another 45-50 minutes. Take the chicken and veggies out and let the chicken cool.

mmmm golden brown perfection

Once it is cool enough to touch carve the chicken as you would (we did the 2 thighs and drumsticks attached, 2 breasts, 2 wings).

Everything all cut up and ready to go

Serve with the veggies and enjoy! Our favorite part of roasted chicken night is picking at the carcass like hyenas and make sure you get the “oyster” on the back – its the best part people!

The plus side of this dinner is that we don’t have to buy a lot. Our total grocery bill was for $14.20 (and it would have been $3 cheaper but we haven’t planted our thyme yet). Our entire chicken makes 4 servings for a total of $3.55 a serving.

Heath wise it was also a win. One serving of a breast and veggies equates to about 600 calories, 64 g of protein, and only 15 g of fat. Good job!

The final product

Grilled Shrimp and Grits

Today I had a hankering – grilled shrimp – oh it sounded amazing. One of my favorite things ever is shrimp and grits so it was settled. This is so easy and quick to make and yet so light! We served it with a small green salad and our favorite vinaigrette.

Ingredients:
1 lb medium/large  shrimp
spice rub (2 t Tony’s seasoning, 2 t garlic powder, 1 t ground ginger)
2 c shredded sharp or extra sharp cheddar cheese
3/4 c quick grits
3 c water
1 garlic clove minced

Peel and de-vein the shrimp. Skewer them on metal or water soaked wooden skewers. Drizzle olive oil and sprinkle generously with the spice rub on both sides.

seasoned but not yet grill-ified

Place the shrimp on the grill and cook until nice and lightly chard.

post grillification

When the shrimp are almost done put the 3 c of water in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Once the water is at a boil, add the grits and stir constantly until all the water is absorbed. When all of the water has been absorbed, take the pan off the heat and add the cheese and garlic and stir until the cheese is completely melted and incorporated.

mmmm cheese grits

Enjoy!

As for cost – a total bill of $10.29 and the batch made 3 large servings which equals to $3.43 each.  Not too shabby! As far as nutrition we did great! A serving of 7 shrimp and a 1/2 c of cheesy grits equals 271 calories, 5.8g of fat and 28.7 g of protein. See? Southern food can be good and good for you!