Greek Lemon Chicken

You would think

that I would post a lovely picture with my first recipe post.

And it would be a good thought.

Alas,

you would be incorrect.

But this is yummy and a favorite in my house.

My hubby is Greek and I learned

many recipes and tastes from his mother and Yaya, 

and then did my own thing with what I learned.

Here is my take on baked chicken.

Greek Lemon Chicken

About 6 potatoes

1 roasting chicken

Salt

Pepper

1 onion

2 lemons

2- 4 (or more) cloves of garlic

 3 or 4 (or more) whole carrots

Dill seasoning

1 or 2 cups broth

Preheat your oven to 350 

(or get out your crock pot)
If you are baking this chicken,
you will need a 9X13" backing dish.
(I use Pampered Chef Stoneware.)

Scrub your potatoes and cut out any eyes or bad spots.

Leave the skins on. 

Cut your potatoes into round slices, about 1/4-1/2 inch thick.

Layer the potatoes along the bottom of your baking dish 

or crock pot. 

Take the gizzards and neck out of the cavity of your chicken.

(I save these in a zip lock bag in my freezer for making broth later.)

Trim the excess fat off the opening of the cavity.

Rinse the chicken and pat it dry with a paper towel.

Salt and pepper the inside of the chicken cavity.

Peel and cut your onion in half, then in quarters.

Cut your lemons in half and then quarters.

Peel your garlic cloves.

Squeeze half of the lemons into the cavity.

Stuff the cavity with the squeezed lemons,

the onions and the garlic. 

Now, this probably goes against all the rules of beautiful cooking,

but then, my cooking is rarely beautiful.

Put the chicken BREAST SIDE DOWN on top of the potatoes.

Really, it is juicier that way!

Pour some olive oil over the chicken skin and rub it in. 

Now, for the carrots, you CAN use the little "baby carrots".

But I prefer using whole carrots, peeled and cut into chunks.

They are sweeter and absorb the chicken flavors better.

In addition, they are usually much cheaper. 

So, arrange the carrots around the chicken, 

on top of the potatoes. 

Squeeze the rest of the lemons over the chicken
and carrots. 
Then just lay the squeezed lemon chunks
around on the carrots.

Season the chicken skin with salt, pepper and dill.

Pour the broth around the carrots. 

You can season the carrots with the salt, pepper and dill too.

Now, put the baking dish in the oven and 

bake for about 1 1/2 - 2 hours. 

Check the temperature so that 

the internal temp is 160. 

If you plan on using your Crock Pot, 

plan on cooking the chicken for 6-6 1/2 hours on low.

This is SO YUMMY!!!

If you cook it in your crock pot, be prepared

that it may just fall apart, because it is so moist and delicious.

 After cutting up the chicken to serve,

I save the uneaten everything, to make soup the next day.