Roasted chicken, pan-roasted potatoes, and creamed spinach.....shut the front door!

So tonight's dinner is all about food that simply makes you feel good.  You take a bite, and all's fine in the world.  I guess it just takes you back to somewhere familiar and comfortable....

The ingredients are simple and basic.  Take one roasting chicken, wash it and dry it off.  In a small bowl, blend together a stick of butter, some chopped up rosemary, the zest of half a lemon, fresh chopped parsley, and salt and pepper.  Try to dry the chicken as well as you can, and rub the butter mixture all over the chicken.  Cook in a 400 degree convection oven, or 425 regular oven for about 1 hour.

Next up, potatoes.  Simple and easy.  Cut up how ever many potatoes you feel like cooking!  Heat up your pan with some olive oil and fresh garlic and saute the potatoes.  Once they start to brown, cover and turn down so that they cook through.










Remove the cover and season with any blend of seasonings close to my Moroccan spice blend.  I think the key ingredients are parsley, mint, onion, a little cinnamon, some marjoram, and salt and pepper.  There is just a hint of cilantro, so if you are adding fresh cilantro, go easy!  This is something you are going to want to keep tasting to see what they need.










The last part of this meal is the creamed spinach.  I was really surprised when my daughter requested it, because I thought I was the only one in my family that liked creamed spinach!  This is so easy to make.  You start by making a roux... 2 tbs of butter and 2 tbs of flour.  Blend into a paste and let it get slightly brown.  Add half of a chopped onion and2 cloves of garlic, chopped.  When they are tender, begin to add some chicken broth.  The only seasoning you need is salt, pepper, and a sprinkle of nutmeg. Don't make the sauce too thin at this time, because when you add the spinach, the sauce will thin out a bit.

Once you have a nice sauce consistency, add your fresh spinach.  I had a large bag to use, but you can use how ever much you need.  The heat of the sauce will wilt the spinach to just the right consistency.
Again, as I always say, you need to take a taste to see if it needs any more salt and pepper.  If the sauce is too thick, feel free to add more chicken broth.  If you want it creamier, add half and half instead of the chicken broth.

Just in case you want to see what the final product looked like, here it is.....





So there you have it.  Very easy..... not many ingredients.... and only about an hour to cook everything!

Have a feel-good night!