Herbed Roasted Chicken and Vegetables

Preheat oven to 375ºF.

Prepare butternut squash (see note below), red potatoes, onions and garlic as instructed and put in a large mixing bowl along with the mushrooms. Drizzle the vegetables and mushrooms generously with olive oil. Toss until well coated.

Sprinkle the vegetables and mushrooms with salt and pepper to taste; then sprinkle with about half of the parsley, thyme, and rosemary. Reserve the remainder of the herbs for the chicken. Set aside.

Rinse the chicken under cool water. Pat dry with a paper towel. Place the chicken in a large baking dish. Rub the entire chicken well with olive oil. Season with salt and pepper on all sides and be sure to sprinkle a little salt and pepper into the chicken cavity.

Sprinkle chicken with the remaining fresh herbs. If you don’t have enough herbs, well then simply chop some more.

Center chicken in the baking dish. Surround the chicken with the vegetables and mushrooms. Any mushrooms that are exposed will most likely get too dry during the cooking process, so put them under the vegetables.

Bake for 1-1 1/2 hours until the internal temperature of the chicken reaches 165ºF on a food thermometer. To measure this temperature accurately, place the thermometer in the thickest part of the meat and not resting against bone, or in fat or gristle. I put the thermometer in the thickest part of the breast, however testing the thigh is probably the more accurate or “best” place to test for doneness. If you do not have a thermometer, test the doneness of your chicken by piercing the chicken with a slender knife or a skewer. The juices will run clear (no pink allowed) when the chicken is done.

Note:

To peel and prepare the butternut squash, cut off both ends (the stem end and the blossom end). Cut the squash into two pieces by cutting across the squash separating the neck from the bulbous lower portion. This will make the squash easier to handle when peeling. Using a good vegetable peeler, peel away the tough outside skin. I don’t know why a vegetable peeler works so well, but it does. Place peeled squash on a cutting board and slice in half lengthwise.

The bulbous portion of the squash contains the seeds. Using a spoon, scoop out the seeds. If the butternut you are using is an heirloom variety, such as Waltham butternut, the seeds can be cleaned, dried, and saved for planting in your garden next year. Just an FYI.

Cut the squash halves into wide strips. Then cut across the strips, making large cubes.