Easy Paprika Roast Chicken
Happy Cyber Monday! And the holiday season is off and running! Will this be a busy online shopping day for you? If so, try this incredibly easy and delicious chicken recipe for dinner tonight. It's so hands-off that your fingers will have plenty of time to hit those keys and surf the web!
My mom has been making this chicken for as long as I can remember and there is really nothing to it. It's another of those "unwritten" recipes that my family (and anyone who's ever eaten it) has been enjoying for years. I don't even really know that I'd call this a recipe 'cause it's so ridiculously easy but I wanted to share this with you for those nights you just want things to be simple and reliable.
This dish is also extremely versatile. You can make this using any chicken pieces you like or even a whole roast chicken too, but for ease and family preference I usually buy a package of breasts and a package of wings. It's great on the day you make it and also heats up well too, so I usually like to make enough to have leftovers.
All you do, after spraying a roasting pan with vegetable spray, is to season the chicken on both sides well with salt, ground black pepper, garlic powder, and plenty of paprika. Sometimes I use ground thyme too--feel free to use any spices you like. And I don't measure-just eyeball it and use as much or as little as you like. Then you just brush a little oil on both sides with a pastry brush and bake. Before they go into the oven, they look like this-- You can see they're pretty spiced.
If you have the time, it's best to do this early in the day, cover it and leave it in the refrigerator to marinate and then just pop it in the oven when you're ready to cook it. You don't have to baste it or turn it or anything--you just let it cook!
The chicken stays nice and juicy and the skin gets all crispy/crackly with a decidedly spicy kick. To make things even easier, I served this with leftover Thanksgiving mashed potatoes and a wonderful maple squash puree that I'll blog about tomorrow, but I often throw a few baked potatoes into the oven to cook while the chicken is baking and make a simple salad or steam some veggies. Try it and you've got an easy warm comforting dinner that you'll turn to again and again, leaving you plenty of free time to buy your kids their holiday presents (somebody small told me to say this!)
Easy Paprika Roast Chicken
Serves 5-6 people
Prep Time: 10 minutes: Bake Time: 1 hour and 45 minutes
Ingredients
1 large package of chicken wings and 1 package of breasts (or any combination or amount you wish)
Salt
Pepper
Garlic Powder
Paprika
Oil (Any kind except olive, I use canola)
The Recipe
1. Preheat oven to 350ºF. Spray two baking pans with vegetable cooking spray. Arrange chicken skin side down and season well with the spices. Fill a small cup with some oil. Using a pastry brush, lightly brush the chicken with the oil, rubbing the spices into the crevices. Turn the chicken over so the skin is facing up and repeat the entire process. At this point you can either cover the pans and chill till you're ready to bake, or cook the chicken right away.
2. Bake chicken for about 1 1/2 hours to 1 hour 45 minutes, till chicken looks golden brown and crispy. We like ours really well done, cook it less if you like. Let cool in pans for about 10 minutes before removing.
3. Serve hot or at room temperature-it's really good either way.
4. Store leftovers in covered container in fridge for up to 5 days. Chicken reheats very well in a 300º F oven for about 20 minutes.
Enjoy!
