Roast Chicken and Veggies Counter Top Oven Style

It's only December and my new found enthusiasm for the CrockPot is starting at wane. I am simply feeling too lazy lately to get the evening meal together in the morning. December will do that.

December weather here is most bizarre. Most of the month is cloudy and the wind is always blowing to some degree. We have yet to see any snow but you can feel it lurking. Days that we do see the sun, it mysteriously disappears by 1:30 pm. We usually have more snow in January but at least we see the sun more frequently.

Yesterday I decided to blow the dust off of the counter top oven and roast a chicken. This is a great one dish meal with your sides cooking right along with your chicken! The trick with a counter top oven is to cut the chicken in half. Not only will it fit in the small oven but it also cuts down the cooking time over cooking a whole bird.

You will need:

• 3-4 medium potatoes, peeled and cut into bite size pieces
• 1.5 cups baby carrots
• 1 onion, quartered
• 1/2 zucchini, cut into bite size pieces
• 1 chicken, halved and excess fat removed
• kosher salt
• chicken spice (The one I use is a combination of coarse kosher salt, garlic powder, rosemary, white pepper corns, marjoram, oregano, sage and thyme in a ratio of 1:1 for all ingredients and placed in a spice mill)
• olive oil
• low sodium chicken broth
• flour

Lightly grease shallow roasting pan with olive oil. Place veggies on roasting pan and sprinkle with a pinch of kosher salt. Rub olive oil on all surfaces of the chicken. Grind a light sprinkling of chicken spice over both sides of chicken. Place chicken on top of veggies, skin side up. Roast in counter top (or conventional oven) at 350 C for approximately 1 hour 15 minutes or until chicken is cooked and juices run clear. Remove chicken and veggies to a platter and tent with tin foil. Deglaze roasting pan with chicken broth and thicken with flour/water paste to make gravy. Serve with a side salad and you are set!