Savory Roast Chicken

My kids love chicken, especially roast chicken.  This a simple and yet easy recipe.  We used a large roasting chicken which weighed about 8 pounds which will give you a nice meal with leftovers for sandwiches or salads.  Also, it can be a great alternative for a small Thanksgiving- a huge feast for two.  To make it extra special, we stuffed the bird with a savory sausage and Lizabetti's bread crumb stuffing.  It was absolutely delicious.  All you need to complete the meal is a vegetable and a side of rice or potatoes. 

Ingredients:

• 1 roasting chicken, about 8-10 lbs.
  
• 2 tbsp of sweet paprika
• 2 tbsp of garlic powder
  
• 2 tbsp of onion powder
  
• 1 tbsp of salt
  
• 1 tbsp of dried, minced oregano
  
• 2 tbsp of minced fresh garlic
  
• 2 tbsp of olive oil
  
• 2 tbsp of unsalted butter
  
• Lizabetti's sausage stuffing
  
• 1 portabello mushroom, sliced
• 1 medium onion, sliced

Directions:

1. Trim the chicken, if necessary.  I like to trim some of the fat around the neck and cavity opening.  I also give the bird a rinse and pat it dry.
2. Gently, pry the skin on the breast loose.  You don't have to loosen the whole thing, just enough to get some of the seasoning mix between the meat and skin.
3. Mix all the dry ingredients together.   I like to use a whisk.
4. Sprinkle the mix all over the chicken.  Make sure you coat the inside cavity of the bird.
5. Coat the area between the breast and skin with the dry mix.
6. Coat the inside cavity as well as the section between the skin and the breast meat with the fresh minced garlic.
7. Drizzle the olive oil over the chicken which will help the seasoning to adhere to the chicken.
8. Cover the chicken with plastic or foil and let it marinade overnight or for a few hours in the refrigerator.  Make sure take the chicken out about an hour before you are going to start roasting it.  Its best if the chicken is not ice cold.
9. Preheat the oven to 400 F.
   
10. Soak about 2 feet of cooking twine in warm water.
    
11. Place the sliced portabello and onion on the roasting rack and set the bird on top of the mixture.
    
12. Stuff the bird with the stuffing.  I find that you need to really stuff the cavity tightly.  It might look small, but you will be surprised as to how much stuffing you can get into the chicken.  Just keep pressing and adding the stuffing, until the entire cavity is tightly stuffed.  I know that there are many camps on whether to cook the stuffing in the bird or not.  For this recipe, I like the stuffing cooked in the chicken.
    
13. In order to keep the stuffing in the bird, I use a big sewing needle and the twine to "sew" the cavity shut.  You may not be able to get the opening completely closed, but just having a bit of twine across the opening will help to keep the stuffing from completely falling out.  Wrap some of the twine around the drumsticks and trim the twine.
14. Take the 2 tbsp of butter and slather them between the breast meat and the skin.
    
15. Roast the bird at 400 F for about 30 minutes.  Then turn the temperature down to 375 F and continue to roast for another 2.5 to 3 hours.
    
16. Let the bird rest for about 15 minutes and then its ready to be carved.  

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Tasty Mediterranean Meat Pies - Fiteer Bil Lahma

These meat pies have a great Middle-Eastern flavor and are pretty easy to make. They make a great school day lunch or a perfect party hors h'oeuvres. They don't need to be served hot and can be made in a variety of sizes.
They freeze well and will easily last 6 months in the freezer.

I like to make them with lean ground lamb, but you can also make them with a mixture of lamb and beef. I just feel that lamb gives a more authentic flavor, but a little lamb goes a long way in taste, so go ahead and mix in other meats. No reason that you cannot substitute chicken or turkey for that matter.

These pies can be eaten warm or at room temperature. The meat mixture in recipe is very tasty and can also be served over rice or pasta. It also works as a vegetable stuffing. One time I even ate the stuffing in a sandwitch

Ingredients:

• 1/4 Cup Lizabetti's Mediterranean Dry Rub
  
• 1/2 Lb. Ground lamb
• 1 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
  
• 1 Cup Toasted Pine Nuts
• 1 Medium onion, chopped
• 4 Cloves Garlic, chopped
• 1 Small Can of Tomato Paste
• 1/2 Cup Shredded Cheddar Cheese - Not a traditional ingredient, but it helps seal in the juices. You can omit this to reduce fat.
• 1 lb ball of pizza dough or bread dough. You can make your own dough, my local pizza parlor sells gread dough balls that I use for all kinds of dishes.
• 1/4 Cup of Sesame Seed. Substitute flax seeds for a boost of Omega 3 Fatty Acids.
• 1 Tbsp Milk. Use any type you have, this is just to hold the sesame seeds to the pies.
  

Directions:

Meat Mixture:

1. Pre-Heat a fry pan to medium high and then add the olive oil.
   
2. Once the oil is hot, add the onion. Cook until the onions are clear then push them to one side of the pan.
3. Add the meat to the empty side of the pan and spread it out. Do not mix the meat with the onions at this time.
   
4. Brown the meat to a light tan color.
5. Mix the garlic into the onions.
   
6. Add the dry rub mixture to the meat and work it in.
7. Add the onion/garlic mixture to the meat and stir.
8. Stir in the pine nuts.
9. Stir in the tomato paste. Turn down the heat to medium low and simmer for 2 minutes.
   
10. Turn off the heat and transfer the meat to a mixing bowl.
11. Mix in the cheese. Let the mixture cool. Meanwhile you can work the dough.

Build the Pies:

1. Punch down the dough and roll out with a rolling pin. Roll it into a large rectangle.
   
2. Place small piles of the meat mixture along the edge of the dough about 1 inch (2.5 cm) apart.
3. Use a basting brush to moisten the dough just beyond the piles of meat.
   
4. Roll the edge of the dough over the meat piles
   
   
5. Cut the rolled portion of the dough off from the rest of the dough.
6. Cut the individual pies, use a fork to press down all the edges.
7. Repeat this process until you use up the dough or the meat mixture.
   
   
8. Poke each of the pies with a toothpick at least 5 times. It is important that you do this or the pies will explode in the oven.
9. Coat a cookie sheet with a thin layer of olive oil.
10. Place the pies on the cookie sheet.
11. Brush the milk on the pies and quickly sprinkle with sesame seeds before the milk soaks in.
12. Bake on 375 for 30 minutes or until the pies are a golden brown.
13. Let cool for 5 minutes before serving.
    

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