Berry-Roasted Chicken and a Fix Freeze Feast GIVEAWAY!

I know some of you are probably here for the giveaway I promised last week. Don’t worry, I’ll get to that. First, we have to talk about this chicken.

I may not have been able to eat it, but I could smell it. And it was divine. I’m totally embarrassed to admit that I swallowed up some of the vapors with an open mouth, just to see if I could get a taste (it didn’t work so well). Everyone at the table gobbled it up and asked for more.

Not only was it tasty, but it also came together in a jiffy, gave us leftovers, and the bones made a delicious chicken stock the next day. It’s a winner on all counts.

Berry-Roasted Chicken

Source: Fix, Freeze, Feast by Kati Neville and Lindsay Tkacsik

Grocery List

• 2 whole chickens (8-10 pounds total weight)
• 2 cups berry-flavored vinaigrette dressing
• 2 cups (12 oz) frozen mixed berries
• 1 cup chopped onion (about 1 medium)
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 2 one-gallon freezer bags labeled
• fresh raspberries for serving (optional)

1. Rinse chickens under cool running water. Remove neck and giblets from cavity and discard. Pat chickens dry with paper towel.

Pretty self-explanatory.

If you’re making your own vinaigrette, now is a good time to do that. You can either use a store-bought vinaigrette dressing, or you can use the recipe on page 186 of Fix, Freeze, Feast to make your own. I chose to make my own. The dressing was super-easy and came together with no trouble. The only oil I had on hand was the uber-expensive extra-virgin olive oil that we use for dipping and drizzling. I didn’t exactly want to use an entire cup of it to roast a chicken. I substituted melted butter, which I don’t recommend for a salad dressing, but worked out just fine as a marinade.

2. Put one chicken into each 1-gallon bag. Over each chicken, measure 1 cup vinaigrette, 1 cup berries, 1/2 cup onion, 1/4 tsp salt, and 1/4 tsp pepper.

I know it’s hard to believe, but I did everything here exactly as it says to in the recipe. No changes.

3. Seal and freeze.

TO COOK:

1. Completely thaw one bag of chicken in the refrigerator.

2. Preheat oven to 325.

3. Place chicken, breast side up, in a greased baking dish and pour marinade into cavity. Roast for about 1 1/2 hours, or until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thigh reads 180 degrees. Garnish with fresh raspberries if desired.

I know convention says to roast chickens breast-side up, but I prefer to roast mine breast-side down for most of the time. I think it keeps the breast meat from drying out. I’ll usually flip it over for the last 20 minutes or so, to crisp up the skin.

Do give this one a try. It’s so simple, and so delicious!

And now, the promised giveaway!