It's Friday...Free Recipe Time!

An Ode to Rosemary

(and Chicken)

Rose·mar·y [rohz-mair-ee, -muh-ree] noun, plural -mar·ies.

An evergreen shrub, Rosmarinus officinalis, of the mint family,

native to the Mediterranean region, having leathery, narrow leaves

and pale-blue, bell-shaped flowers, used as a seasoning

and in perfumery and medicine: a traditional symbol of remembrance.

Ahh, doesn't that sound heavenly?

And a day of remembrance we had preparing for this!

Memory Number Uno - we have recently returned from

what our family deems, the most beautiful place in America -

the beautiful beaches along Scenic Highway 30A

in the Florida panhandle (between Destin and Panama City).

WHERE, I might add, we visited one of our favorite spots,

ROSEMARY beach!

Memory Number Dos - as we were shopping for ingredients

for this recipe, we were reminded of the fragrance

that was on our hands and that was filling our car.

We had just returned from the home of some

dear friends gathering a bucketful of said ROSEMARY!

Mmm, heavenly.

and Memory Number Tres - a rather strange memory,

our check out girl's NAME was ROSEMARY!

How freaky is that?!?

Okay, so, enough rambling and reminiscing...

we've got some cookin' to do.

Today's recipe may not even count as a 'recipe'

but more of an 'idea' - so, use it up!

I recently had the privilege of cooking this Rosemary Chicken

for the Singing Men of East Texas led by

my amazing boss and my awesome husband

gets to be a part of!!!  What a treat!

(So do not be alarmed by the mass quantities of

chicken shown in these photos - over 200 pieces).

This is sooo easy, you could do it with your eyes closed!

THINGS YOU WILL NEED

Fresh Rosemary

Chicken Pieces - raw, thawed

Chopped/Diced Garlic

Salt/Pepper

Cooking Spray

Olive Oil/Butter

Roasting Pan/Casserole Dish

Oven  :)

First off, you must find a friend that has loads of rosemary

and wouldn't mind you snipping a handful of.

Nextly, you need chicken.  What kind of chicken?

Any kind you would like.  How's that?!

At home, for this particular recipe,

we prefer chicken thighs - skin on, bone in.

But for this particular night and group of people

we were feeding, we chose a mixture of

chicken thighs, breasts, and drumsticks.

You decide how many mouths to feed and purchase

whatever variation you need!

With me so far?

Now it's time to season the thawed, raw chicken.

First off, I understand that there are some people out there

that are on a very limited sodium diet, but if you are not,

please, please, please do not be afraid of

salt and pepper in your food!

I believe the reason some foods don't taste as good as they should

is rarely because someone is a bad cook,

but simply because it lacks enough of this simple ingredient - salt.

I'm not saying be a salt hog, but you would be surprised

how much better your food would be if you added salt

DURING the cooking process, NOT after.

There's just something about adding salt WHILE

you are cooking chili, spaghetti sauce, soups, and meats

that you just cannot reach the same level of goodness

if you add salt after cooking.  In fact, I believe

 it takes MORE salt afterwards and the flavor is still

never quite there. 

SO, spray a nice baking dish

(preferably some type of metal roasting pan -

however, glass would work as well)

with cooking spray liberally OR

if you are using chicken breasts,

drizzle your pan with olive oil and

a few tablespoons of butter.

Those boneless, skinless chicken breasts

will need a little fat in the pan!

NOW, apply salt and pepper on ALL sides of your raw chicken.

Don't be scared.

Place seasoned chicken pieces in the baking dish

Now, liberally sprinkle, dab, drop or spread

diced/chopped garlic all over the chicken.

Again, do not be afraid. 

Do you know how good garlic is for you???

NOW, your kitchen is a bout to go over the top

with some amazing smells.  As if the garlic wasn't amazing enough!

Take your gently washed/rinsed rosemary stems/branches

and either cut them into 2-3 inch pieces or hold the

rosemary over your baking dish and snip, snip, snip

the rosemary randomly all over the chicken.

If you would rather not have little flecks of rosemary

all in your chicken, I would suggest tucking

a 2-3 inch piece of cut rosemary underneath

each piece of chicken.  So far so good right?!

Now, pause for a minute and just breathe in the yumminess! Ahh!

Okay, back to reality.

Place chicken in your preheated 375 degree oven

for about 40 minutes -  if they are nicely spread apart.

We usually have to cook ours an hour or so (for our family)

because we usually cook 15-20 thighs.

You will know they are done when the skin-on chicken

is nice and golden and crispy! Mmm.

Please note that if you are baking this using chicken breasts,

you must flip them several times during the cooking process

to keep them from drying out.  It's not a bad idea

to keep an eye on the thighs as well and you may

want to flip those once or twice...

stirring the rosemary around as well so that it will not dry out.

And there you have it!

Although we were not responsible for any side dishes for our chicken,

it goes great with most any side dish

because the flavor is not at all overpowering.

Now, go ye therefore....and EAT!