What's For Dinner

So yesterday I thought it would be nice to try some recipe ideas that I have gathered over the last month. Recently Nathan and I have been trying to have dinner together at the kitchen table.  Seems pretty normal but for us it is a little weird...we got in the habit of eating our meals in front of the TV.  Anyhow we both grew up in families that ate together at the kitchen table and now that Ethan is here we thought we better start getting into the habit.  Anyhow it has been going really well and I find that I am putting more effort into the cooking and presentation of our meals.  I love to cook so needless to say I am enjoying it.  Also I am starting to try some of the recipe ideas that I have gathered or seen on cooking shows.  Last night the menu was a whole roast chicken with stuffing, sweet potatoes done fancy (so good), brown beans, carrots/scallions, and corn.  This was only the second time I have done a whole roast chicken on my own...I am not sure why I don't do it more often because it is nice to use the leftovers for sandwiches through the week.  Also I can use the carcass for yummy chicken soup (my mom always does this and I love her homemade soup).
Ok so here is what I put together for dinner:

Roasted Whole Chicken:  Set oven to 350 degrees (rule of thumb for cooking time of thawed whole chicken: 20 mins per pound plus an extra 15 mins) 
ok so I remove the bag of what ever it is inside and discard because it is gross, then I rinse the bird under cold water really well.  I cut a lemon in half and put it in the bird first then loosely put in stuffing (don't pack it to tight). Then I rub butter and the following seasonings over the bird (kosher salt, pepper, rosemary and garlic).  Put bird in roasting pan. I use half water and half chicken broth in the pan and add in vegetables (I put in carrots and scallions this time)...then put in oven!

Stuffing:  All I do is cut up my bread crusts ( I save my crusts in a bag and keep in fridge) and mix 1/2 onion, 2-3 stocks of celery, 2 cloves of garlic, pepper, sea salt, fresh rosemary & thyme. I mix with one package of the store bought stuffing. I had quite a bit left after stuffing the bird so I put the rest in muffin cups and baked in oven (after placing in muffin cups put a bit of butter on top of each cup.  See picture below...this is a tip I picked up from a cooking show...it makes the stuffing nice and crispy...yum...you can mix it with the stuffing from the bird if you want.

Sweet Potatoes:

1. Combine ingredients

1 1/2 tablespoons light brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon chipotle chili powder
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon course ground pepper

2. Boil the sweet potatoes until soft, take off the skins, and then cut them into 3rds or 4ths.

3. Smash them with a potato smasher and and then brush them with melted butter.

4. Sprinkle them with 1/2 of the seasoning.

5. Roast them, or fry them up in a pan with butter or olive oil. Turn them over and sprinkle with the remaining seasoning. Make sure you get a yummy, golden crust on the potato. It's the best part! Serve with fresh cilantro on top.

I wish I got a picture when it came out of the oven but forgot..so here it is just before I put it in the oven to cook

Left over stuffing

Put it in a muffin tray

These are soooooo yummy

Family Dinner...yes I am learning to eat while holding a baby!

Note to self...I made way too much gravy