Roasted Rosemary Sweet Potatoes

Made this as a side for my crock pot rosemary roast chicken. Ridiculously low hassle and yummy. Excluded the parsley and pine nuts.

2 lbs. sweet potatoes, cut into 1 1/2 inch pieces
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 tbsp. fresh rosemary, chopped
2 tbsp. olive oil
1/4 cup pine nuts
2 tbsp. fresh parsley,  chopped
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. fresh ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 375. In roasting pan or large baking dish, combine sweet potatoes, garlic, rosemary and olive oil. Roast for 45 minutes, mixing occasionally.

Just before serving, add pine nuts, parsley, and salt and pepper. Serve warm.

Crock Pot Rosemary Roast Chicken

And yes, this is actually a picture of one of the times that I myself made this! Oh so proud. :)

SO, I recently learned how to roast a whole chicken in the crock pot, and I am now addicted. It is one of my absolute favorite meals to cook for company, because it can be really cheap, is so dang easy and is so beautiful! You can prepare the chicken the night before, you then stick it in the crock pot during the day, put it on warm if it is done a little early, then not really worry about it until just before the company arrives! The less stress I can get away with before company, the better.

One thing that contributes to this being just about the simplest thing every is my beloved crock pot. I found a well rated 6 quart oval programmable crock pot on sale for $35, and I have been oh-so-happy with that purchase! You need a large oval crock pot like this so that there is room for the chicken and a little room for the air to circulate around it. And with the one I have, it even has a temperature probe you can stick into your meat, and then the crock pot will turn to "warm" once it has reached the desired temperature. AMAZING.

Anyway, wanted to add this to the blog in case anyone else wants to try it, or even just so that I can have an online copy easily accessible. I know it looks long, but that's because I add a few variations/notes. Here it goes.

Ingredients:
1 whole chicken (recipe calls for 3.5 lb, I just did a 5 lb one today)
salt and pepper
8 rosemary sprigs
12 garlic cloves
1 tbsp. kosher salt
1/4 cup olive oil
1 lemon, quartered
vegetables, like carrot, celery, or onion (optional. if you have some extras lying around)

Rinse the chicken under cold running water and pat dry, inside and out. Reserve the giblets. Salt and pepper the cavity of the chicken generously. place 6 (or more) garlic cloves, lemon slices, and 3-4 sprigs rosemary in the cavity. Truss the legs together. (I looked up how to do this on YouTube, and it really is pretty easy).

Mince 6 cloves of garlic and mash into a paste with some kosher salt. Finely mince 4 sprigs rosemary and combine with the garlic paste. (You can also just combine all of this in a small food processor. I also sometimes add some pepper and thyme). Combine the rosemary garlic paste with the olive oil in a gallon zip-lock bag. Place the chicken in the bag, and massage the rosemary/garlic/olive oil into the chicken. Refrigerate overnight.

If you have veggies lying around (like carrots, celery or onions), put enough in the bottom of the crock pot that it will sort of lift the chicken off the bottom, so it won't stew in its own juices. These veggies will also add a little flavor to the stock, in case you want to make a gravy or something with it. Put the giblets in the bottom of the crock pot as well, as they will add a richer flavor to the juices. If you don't have veggies to lift the chicken a little, just make a few little balls of aluminum foil and put them in the bottom, and they will do the same trick of lifting the chicken. Place the chicken on top, and cook for about 1/2 hour per pound on high, or about 1 hour per pound on low. (It took about 5.5 hours on low for my 5 lb chicken).

Once it is done, keep on warm in crock pot until just about ready to serve. If you want to have a nice crisp browned roasted outer layer rather than the sort of translucent, soft moist skin from the slow cooker (yes please!), turn your oven to 500. Transfer the chicken to a roasting pan (I use my cast iron pan as shown in the picture), then roast for 8-10 minutes, or until the skin is golden brown. Wait a few minutes, then serve your delicious, crisp on the outside/moist on the inside, beautiful roast chicken!

ALSO, the juices really do make an incredible stock or gravy. If you want to have the gravy as a side, just skim what fat you can get off the top, strain it well, then heat it on the stove and use a little cornstarch to thicken it. Mmm!!