How To Roast A Chicken: Lazy Cook's Stuffing An Accidental Success For Sunday Dinner

Lazy Sunday afternoons require effort. All those household chores must be actively ignored. Exhaustion helps the would-be lazy mom and dad, as well as demands of bored children crying, "Play with me!" This Sunday I heeded their pleas, and we played games inside and out. But then what to do about dinner?

I had a whole chicken which at 1:30 I popped into the oven after seasoning it on the outside and stuffing it on the inside. If I hadn't been lazy, I would have followed recipes for roast chicken stuffing created by real chefs. In the past I've done so and have been pleased with delicious results. Keep reading for the onion and sage stuffing recipe of one such Wisconsin chef.

But this Sunday I was so lazy I just sprinkled not-so-random spices on top of the washed bird. I sprinkled parsley, red pepper, paprika, and then a mix of spices called Bavarian spices. Not sure what's in that but I like it. You can get it at Penzy's in Madison. As an after-thought I brushed the chicken with olive oil.

But should I stuff the chicken? Kids like stuffing. I like stuffing. I had a half-used bag of Pepperidge Farm stuffing in the cupboard. All signs said, "Yes, stuff the chicken". But I'd already put the chicken on a rack sprayed with non-stick olive oil spray in the pan. And I certainly was too lazy to pull out a skillet and make Pepperidge Farm stuffing according to the package instructions. So instead I chose to continue experimenting with microwave cooking. Read on for my new, fast easy stuffing recipe that made that roast chicken super-moist. Necessity may be the mother of invention, but laziness can be the genius behind accidental success.

I had about a 1/2 a bag of stuffing. The bag was all crumpled over so I didn't bother smoothing it out to read Pepperidge Farm's recommended proportions of stuffing to butter to broth. I just put a half a stick of butter (4 Tablespoons) in a mixing bowl and microwaved it on high for a minute to get it mostly melted. Then I dumped a small, diced onion into the butter and nuked it again for another minute. I figured the onion should be softened but maybe this was an unnecessary step for the truly lazy cook. Then I chopped up some old, fresh mushrooms and put them in the butter, added the half bag of stuffing and stirred. This was not gourmet stuffing, but I've never met a lazy gourmet chef.

Then I spooned the stuffing into the chicken. Once in, I realized I'd forgotten to add the chicken broth. So I poured a half can of Swanson's Chicken broth on to the stuffing already in the chicken. Now, Pepperidge Farm wants you to bring chicken broth and butter to a boil in a saucepan,then add the stuffing, and then stuff the bird. I figured it would all boil in the chicken while roasting so why bother dirtying a saucepan? I could have been concerned that I'd dumped too much broth into the chicken, but I was too lazy to care. (I know, as I write this I'm shocked at my confessions of sloth! - And she has a cooking blog?)

At this point, my raw roast chicken looked more or less normal, so I put it in a 250 degree oven. It was 1:30. I wasn't sure how long it would cook, but I figured it'd be ready about 6:00. At 3:00 I basted it once with more olive oil. At 4:30 that chicken smelled really good, - and really cooked. I stuck an oven thermometer in the thigh and read 170 degrees. Yes, it was ready. The rest of the dinner wasn't, but the kids were hungry. So I turned off the oven, leaving the chicken inside. I quickly made broccoli, and au gratin potatoes - from a box. I normally refuse to make box foods, but I had a moment of weakness in the grocery store and gave in to my children's begging. They love those cheesy potatoes.

Of course, by the time the potatoes had cooked, the chicken had cooled. So I put the chicken in a dish and microwaved it for a couple of minutes before I sliced it. I know, this is a real no-no. Not only should chicken grease splatter throughout your microwave (which by some miracle it didn't) but the chicken texture should become completely ruined (which by another miracle it didn't). Maybe God watches over lazy cooks on Sundays - that supposed day of rest.

Well, I have to say, this roast chicken was my best ever! And who knew my children loved gloppy stuffing so much? As luck would have it, I'd poured too much chicken broth into the chicken. I think the super-moist texture and delicious flavor resulted from the broth steaming the chicken from the inside. In truth, I'd never roasted chicken this well. My kids had 2nd and 3rd helpings - that tells you how good it was. (Of course, they ate their au gratin potatoes first.)

Just a caveat, all of that stuffing didn't fit into the chicken cavity. And I figured I'd better cook this left-over stuffing a bit before serving. So I ended up getting that saucepan out anyway. I put the left-over stuffing in the saucepan, dumped in the rest of the can of chicken broth and heated it over medium heat, stirring when I felt like it, until it was generally browner and looked cooked. We haven't eaten this yet, so I can't report on its flavor. But I'm hardly worried.

Okay, so that's my make-shift stuffing recipe. Here's an onion and sage stuffing recipe that Darlene Kronschnabel, an expert Wisconsin chef, uses for her Country-Style Roast Chicken. Both recipes are in her cookbook: Seasons In A Country Kitchen Cookbook. Hers is so good, she makes it for company and special family dinners. (I'd make mine for company too if I could be sure I could replicate it.)

• Non-stick spray coating
• 1/4 cup butter or margarine
• 1 1/2 cups chopped onions
• 1 cup chopped celery
• 2 teaspoons poultry seasoning
• 2 teaspoons ground sage
• 1 teaspoon ground thyme
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 3 quarts slightly dry whole-wheat bread cubes
• 1/3 cup snipped parsley
• Giblet and neck meats, diced
• 1 well-beaten egg
• 1-1 1/2 cups giblet broth

"Spray a 2-quart casserole with nonstick spray coating. In a small skillet, melt butter over medium heat. Saute onion and celery, stirring occasionally, until just crisp-tender. In a 4-quart bowl, combine onion mixture, poultry seasoning, sage, thyme, salt, and pepper. Mix well. Stir in bread cubes, parsley, giblet and neck meats, and egg. Mix well. Stir in 1 to 1 1/2  cups giblet broth, adding only enough to thoroughly moisten bread but without breaking them up. Reserve 2 to 2 1/2 cups of stuffing for the chicken. Spoon all the remaining stuffing into prepared casserole. Cover and refrigerate until baking time. Bake stuffing in same oven as chicken for 30 to 40 minutes at 325 degrees. Baste the stuffing several times with pan juices from roasting chicken. Makes about 8 to 10 cups."

Giblet Broth

• Chicken giblets
• Chicken neck
• 5 cups water
• 1/2 cup chopped leafy celery tops
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 teaspoon salt

"In a 3-quart saucepan, combine giblets, neck, water, celery tops, bay leaf, and salt. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat. Cover and simmer 1 hour or until giblets are tender. Remove giblets and neck from  broth. Chop meat fine. Refrigerate. Strain broth and refrigerate until needed for either stuffing or gravy. Makes about 4 cups."

Darlene writes, "My mother learned to make this stuffing from her mother. Now five generations of our family are still enjoying it. It's mildly seasoned, so add more seasonings to your taste."

I've always meant to make Darlene Kronschnabel's onion and sage stuffing, but as you can see, there's nothing lazy about it. However, it sure sounds good. Maybe it's a Saturday recipe.

Looking for more chicken recipes? Here's an 0n-line Wisconsin cookbook. On Wisconsin!

Comments

[Susie's Homemade]

Yummy!

What a great tribute to our state your site is!!! I LOVE IT!!!