A Roasting.

My excitement over being allowed to post on a food blog is overshadowed by one simple fact: I'm here for the comic relief. Not so much funny haha but rather, "funny, you don't cook." What I have going for me is the zeal of a beginner, and a good friend and neighbor who enjoys teaching me things like egg-boiling and chicken-breading.

I'm pleased to meet you, blog readers.

Lisa and I ventured into new territories this fall by signing up for Arganica Farms. I'm doing it mostly so that I have no excuse but to eat my vegetables. I was scared to order any meat, being an ex-vegetarian who still dabbles, but I ordered an organic chicken. At $4, this is a steal.

Unfortunately, at $4 it also had...a neck. Gobble gobble.

I called my mom for help, who told me to chop "it" off, but I just couldn't bear it. I pretended "it" did not exist. I added a little olive oil, some salt and pepper and threw that bad boy in the oven with some butternut squash and potatoes. It came out great - super juicy and delicious. I immediately took every scrap of meat off the bone and threw the...um...carcass out. So what? (This is where Lisa heaves a sigh at the loss of a beautiful pot of chicken stock).

Mara's Badass Chicken (with Neck)
1 organic chicken, about 4 lbs.
1 neck (ignore)
4 white potatoes, peeled and chopped large
1 butternut squash, peeled and chopped large
Olive oil
Salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 425. Rub everything with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place the chicken, breast side down, on a rack in a roasting pan. Roast 15 minutes. Lower heat to 350, add chopped veggies to the pan, and continue roasting until chicken is cooked, about 45 more minutes, or until the internal temperature is 165 and juices run clear. Rest for 20 minutes before carving. (...like I did that).

Love Dish: Citrus-Rosemary Roasted Chicken

Welcome back, everyone! I hope you all had a wonderful, relaxing, food-filled vacation. I spent the majority of my holiday sitting around my parents' kitchen making some of our favorite family recipes (and taking meticulous notes), and I'm excited to share them all with you soon. In the meantime, though, here's a simple dish that I made last night. After all the feasting of Christmas was behind us, we wanted a dinner that required very little effort. A few chickens in the freezer, some oranges in the fridge, and the hardy rosemary bush in the backyard were all we needed.

Citrus-Rosemary Roasted Chicken
2 5-lb roasting chickens
2 oranges
6 rosemary sprigs
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp coarsely ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 450 degree.

Remove the giblets from the chickens and either save for another use or discard. Wash the chickens inside and out and pat dry. Sprinkle the cavities with salt and pepper. Cut each orange in half; squeeze the juice of both halves over the skin of one chicken and stuff the cavity with the rinds. Repeat with the other chicken. Place one rosemary sprig in each cavity. Pull the leaves off the remaining sprigs and chop finely. In a small bowl, combine the olive oil, rosemary, and salt and pepper. Spread evenly over both chickens, rubbing with your hands to coat evenly.

Place both chickens in a large roaster and place in oven. Immediately lower the heat to 350 and roast for 1 1/2 hours, or until a meat thermometer placed in the thickest part of one of the chicken's thighs reaches 175. Remove from oven; tent with foil and let rest for ten minutes. Carve and serve.

Quick Dish: Cranberry Chicken Salad Sandwiches

Ah, lunch.

Such an important meal of the day. And during the work week, "going out" for it saves you from a whole host of of bothersome things - hunger, boredom, a stuffy office, an annoying co-worker. But as fun as going out to lunch is, it definitely does not save you money, or time. If you're short on both, I'm guessing your brown bag it most days. And though in doing so you're being oh-so-good, I'm also guessing you open that bag feeling a wee bit grumpy about what a great meal you could be having. Hrmph.

Sufferers of lunch remorse, this quick dish is for you. When I brown bag it, I try to pack a meal that I would actually want to order somewhere, not just the usual hum drum home fare. So, whenever I make chicken for dinner, I cook extra so I can make this lovely salad the next day. (It's also a great use for the uneaten half of that store-bought roast chicken you couldn't resist). It couldn't be simpler to make, and this time of year, those lovely specks of celery green and cranberry red are very festive, no? I prefer it on hearty pumpernickel, but any old bread will do. So make chicken tonight and no more boring lunch tomorrow. Voila!

Cranberry Chicken Salad Sandwiches
Makes enough for two sandwiches

One leftover chicken breast (about 6 ounces)
2 ribs of celery, diced, green leaves included
A handful of dried cranberries
3 tbsp mayo
2 tsp honey mustard
Salt and pepper to taste

Mix together ingredients. Make sandwiches. Pack sandwiches.

Eat at work. Ignore annoying coworker.

Quick Dish: Chicken-Tomatillo Enchiladas

Got a craving for Mexican? One jar o' salsa to the rescue! This tastes as good as most of the enchiladas you can get around town, and you don't have to change out of your pajamas to enjoy them.

Chicken-Tomatillo Enchiladas

1 lb. chicken tenders, chopped into small pieces
1/2 onion, chopped
1 16-oz. can tomatillo salsa
Dash of cumin
Dash of cayenne pepper
Salt and pepper
1 tbsp olive oil
6 whole wheat flour tortillas
Shredded Monterey Jack cheese
1 ripe avocado, optional

Preheat the oven to 350.

In a small bowl, mix together the chicken, 1/2 cup of the salsa, cumin, cayenne pepper and salt and pepper to taste. Let marinate for 15 minutes.

Scoop the pulp out of the avocado into a small bowl. Add salt, pepper and a little garlic powder and mash with a fork. Set aside.

In a nonstick saute pan over high heat, add the olive oil. When the oil is shimmering, pour in the chicken mixture and saute, stirring often, until the chicken is cooked through, about 5 minutes. Set aside.

In a shallow baking dish, pour about 1/2 cup of salsa on the bottom and spread to coat. Add a few tablespoonfuls of the chicken filling down the center of each tortilla, sprinkle with a handful of cheese, and roll tightly. Place each tortilla seam-side down in the baking dish. Pour the remaining salsa over the enchiladas, covering completely, and sprinkle with additional cheese. Bake for 10 minutes, or until the enchiladas are warmed through and the cheese is melty. Serve the enchiladas topped with some of the mashed avocado.