awesome roast chicken

I don't know about you, but I reckon throwing a roast together is one of the easiest meals there is. All you've got to do is peel a few spuds, chop up some veggies, get your meat ready and BAM! You've got yourself a delicious meal that the whole family will love.

So, with that in mind, here we go with the most delicious (and easy) roast chicken recipe you'll ever try.  Promise.  

Don't let the large amounts of butter scare you.  It's ok to slather your roast chicken in butter.  Just don't slather your sandwiches, or anything else for that matter, in the same amount of butter or your scales will skyrocket in no time.

1. Line a baking tray with baking paper (this just makes cleaning the tray easier once your roast is done) and place 3 sprigs of rosemary on the baking paper.
2. Place your chicken on top of the rosemary and stuff with 1 lemon (quartered), 1 onion (quartered) and another sprig of rosemary.
3. Season the skin of the chicken with salt, pepper and dollops of butter.
4. Cook chicken in a pre-heated oven (200 deg C) for one hour.
5. While you're chicken is baking, peel & cut spuds and pumpkin.  Boil them for approximately 10 minutes (this is called Par Boiling)  Drain, add 1 tablespoon butter & 1 tablespoon flour.  Put the lid back on the pot and give it a good bang on the bench.  This will coat your spuds and pumpkin nicely, which will give them that delicious crispy finish. (Thanks to my cousin, Emma, for that awesome potato cooking tip.)
6. After an hour, remove the chicken from the oven and pour over 1/4 cup honey.  Add the spuds and pumpkin to the tray.
7. Return the chicken & veggies to the oven and bake for another 1/2 hour.
8. Remove chicken from the oven and let it sit for 15 minutes, while the veggies stay in the oven and continue to crisp up nicely. 

And after 1.5 hours in the oven, here's the finished product....yes, it tasted as delicious as it looks....

I served this chicken with gravy (gravox packet mix is my fave...none of this gravy form scratch business at our house), the roast spuds & pumpkin, boiled beans and a cauliflower & broccoli gratin.  YUM!