Italian Roasted Chicken and Potatoes

If you have been following me on facebook you know that my hubby has gone downstate to work for the summer.  Last weekend he was able to come home for the first time since he left in May.   About 2 weeks ago he sent me a link to a recipe from Food.com for Italian Roasted Chicken and Potatoes.  

He has given me recipes before that he thought would taste good but this one was a little bit unusual.  For one thing he doesn't like roasted chicken and another thing he doesn't eat a lot of potatoes.  But I thought I would make it this past weekend.

So the hottest day in the U.P. I turned my oven on and sweltered to make this recipe.  Aren't I the best wife?

Italian Roasted Chicken and Potatoes

adapted from Italian Roasted Chicken and Potatoes

 Ingredients:
3 lbs potatoes
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup minced fresh Basil and Italian Parsley ( I used about 1/8 cup basil and the rest parsley)
1 tbsp oregano
sea salt
fresh black ground pepper
4- 5 lbs chicken. ( I used the chicken/thigh)
sliced onions

Directions:
Preheat oven to 425 degrees F
Wash and cut up potatoes ( I didn't peel mine but you can peel if you would prefer).
Mix the potatoes with 1/2 of the olive oil, basil, parsley, oregano and salt and pepper to taste.  Spread over the bottom of a large roasting pan.
 In same bowl, mix rest of the ingredients and generous amount of salt and pepper.  Layer chicken over potatoes, skin side down.
Bake for 30 minutes at 425 degrees.
Remove chicken and stir potatoes.  Replace chicken with skin side up.
Bake for 30 more minutes or until chicken is crisp and brown and potatoes are golden.  (Mine took about 45 minutes).
10 minutes before meal is done, slice onions about 1/2 of a small onion over top and return for the remainder of the time.
Enjoy.

This meal was very good but I am glad that I added the oregano and basil.  The next time I make it I am going to add more oregano.  Hubby thought this meal was very good, although he did add more salt and I thought I had already used lots.  As I used 5 pieces of leg/thigh parts there was some leftover and he was able to take a few doggie bags back with him.   The next day I cut up my leftover chicken and placed it on a Berry Salad - recipe to come.

A teaser of what is to come 

  

 

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#FoodieFriendsFriday Linky Party and it is a chicken thing

I hope all Americans are having a wonderful July 4th... Do you have a long weekend or just the 4th off.

I was lucky enough to find someone to work all weekend for me (it was my holiday to work)...

So now get to enjoy it with my hubby as he is coming home for the long weekend... YEAH!

Foodie Friends Friday is having a chicken party... 

Bring your best chicken recipes.

Can't wait to see what you have...

First

Last Week's Party Review

Host Favorites

Each Foodie Friends Friday host picks their favorite recipe.  These recipes are then featured in a post 

on the Daily Dish Magazine.  To be featured you must have a link back to either Foodie Friends Friday or the host blog that you link up with.  Next week your recipe just might be here.

My Host Favorite

This week the recipe that caught my attention was Blueberry Lemon Cheesecake from Jenn's Random Scraps.  Cheesecake is one of my favorite desserts and I was hoping to make this week, but the week just didn't have enough hours in it.  Maybe I will still get it done.  Thank you Jenn for sharing this wonderful dessert with us.

photo credit:  Jenn's Random Scraps

Recipe with Most Clicks

Red, White and Blue Parfait ~ This and That
Firecracker Cake ~ Love Bakes Good Cakes
Strawberry Pie ~ In the Kitchen with Jenny

Now Onto This Week's Party

Welcome to Foodie Friends Friday!

Please take a moment to read through the rules before getting started, Thank You!

*By linking up you agree that you read these rules and all photos/recipes are original and belong to you. You agree to allow Foodie Friends Friday and any of it's affiliated websites or publications (Social Girls Media, LLC) to use photos, links, and recipes for reprint and/or republishing and distribution without monetary compensation to you. If photos & recipes are used, proper link backs to you will be included.

Adding Links back to Foodie Friends Friday and our Button is our only form of advertising to bring in more people to see YOUR recipes.

Please remember to do this. It benefits you! To thank you, we will continue to feature those with links throughout the year on various outlets.

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An InLinkz Link-up

An InLinkz Link-up

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• Foodie Friends Friday Fruit Party #FoodieFriendsFriday
• Foodie Friends Friday Independence Day Food
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• #FoodieFriendsFriday Linky Party ~ A BBQ

Canada Day and an Iced Capp

♪♪  It's Canada Day, Up Canada Way

On this first day of July  ♪♪

This is one of my favorite Canadian songs and sung by Stompin' Tom Connors.  This song makes me proud to be Canadian.  Canada is and will always be my first love no matter where I call home or what nationality at that time I will be (I am now an American Citizen).  I will always be Canadian in my heart.

Canada also has Tim Hortons one of my favorite coffee/doughnut shops.  If the police like it, it is good for me.  I love their Iced Cappuccinos or as the Canadians would say "give me an Ice Capp".   This is one thing that I miss and is usually the first thing that I buy when I get over the border.  Driving home Estevan, Saskatchewan is my first Canadian town and they have ~ you guessed it right a Tim Horton's.  My first and always my last stop as I leave.  Over the years I have just about perfected my Iced Capps... not quite the same but they work, especially if I have Tim Horton's Coffee and English Toffee Cappuccino mix. 

 Eastern United States also has Timmie's and to my great surprise and luck there was one close to where my husband is staying in Lansing.  That shop got to knew me by name (well not quite) as I went for my Timmie's fix everyday.

Timmie's Iced Capp

Ingredients:

4 cups Cold Brewed Tim Horton's Coffee *

4 cups coffee ice cubes **

2/3 cup Tim Horton's English Toffee Cappuccino

1/3 cup condensed milk - if you would like it sweeter use more

optional ice cream ( 1 -2 cups)

Instructions:

Place all in blender and blend until smooth.  You can do this in a couple batches.  I then place it in the freezer until it is starting to freeze - about 1-1/2 hours.  Bring out and re-blend until smooth.
I refreeze the leftovers and bring out and thaw slightly and enjoy.

*To make cold brewed coffee, place 1/2 cup coffee grounds and 4 cups of water in French Press or you could use your coffee pot.  Place in Fridge over night.  If you use a french press, Press down to bring ground to bottom.  If you don't have a fresh press, filter out ground through your coffee pot filter.

** Freeze leftover coffee into ice cube trays so that when you make cold coffee you don't water down your coffee with the ice cubes.

So the next time you see a Tim Horton's go in and ask for a Iced Capp or a Double-Double with a doughnut.  A Double-Double is double cream, double sugar.

I wrote an article in the Daily Dish Magazine that I write for with some facts and myths of Canada, a free printable and a quick and easy Canada Day Parfait.  Head over to Happy Canada Day for more information about Canada.

Canada Day Free Printable

Canada Day Parfait

Happy Canada Day, my Canadian Friends! 

 

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Red, White and Blue Parfait

I saw this recipe today on Facebook from  Pinch My Salt and thought it would be perfect for our Red, White and Blue Party on Foodie Friends Friday.  I had all the ingredients so had to make it... take pictures and write the post quickly...  It is a wonderful light dessert that you could make any time.  Pinch My Salt's recipe only used a strawberry rhubarb compote but I wanted it blue so made a blueberry sauce too.

Red, White and Blue Parfait

adapted from Strawberry - Rhubarb Fool

Ingredients:

For compote

Rhubarb

Strawberries

Raspberries (total of 2 cups of fruit)

Sweetener to taste- I used honey

For Blueberry Sauce

Blueberries (used only about 1/4 cup)

Sweetener to Taste

For Topping

3/4 cup heavy whipping cream

1/4 cup powdered sugar

1/3 cup vanilla yogurt ( I used Chobani Greek Yogurt)

Instructions:

Rhubarb, Strawberry, Raspberry Compote ~ Add rhubarb, strawberries, raspberries and sweetener in sauce pan with a small amount of water (about a tablespoon).  Cook on medium heat until it is mushy and start to thicken.  Let cool.  I cooled mine in the freezer.  Set aside.

Blueberry Sauce ~Add blueberries and sweetener to saucepan, cook over medium low heat until they start to have some liquid.  I didn't cook mine all the way through.  Set aside to cool.

Topping ~ Add whipping cream, powdered sugar and yogurt in mixing bowl.  Whip until peaks form.

Assemble:  Layer Rhubarb, Strawberry, Raspberry Compote and topping.  Top with blueberry sauce.  Enjoy

This would also taste good with some granola.  

Links:  Swap and Share , Random Recipe Roundup, Dial Moms Monday, Wednesday Extravaganza, Weekend Re-treat

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Red, White and Blue Party At #FoodieFriendsFriday Linky Party

These weeks just seem to run into one another... Do you feel the same or is it just me.

It is time again for another fun filled

 Foodie Friends Friday Linky Party

This week we are having a red, white and blue party

To Celebrate

United States Independence Day

First let's do a recap of last week's party...

with

Recipes that Caught Our Attention

Every week, each host picks their favorite recipe.  These recipes are then featured over at the Daily Dish Magazine.  To be featured you must have a link to Foodie Friends Friday or  the host blog that you link up with.  You can do this with a button on a party page, recipe or a simple link on the recipe.  If you do this your recipe just might be HERE.

Most Clicks

Jello Strawberry Parfait ~With Grateful Prayers and Thoughtful Heart
Chili Dog Casserole ~ Vegetarian Casserole Queen
Strawberry Rhubarb Wreath ~ Mainely Bakes

Most Votes

Fruit Swirl Coffeecake ~ In the Kitchen with Jenny
Lemon Lime Curd in Sugared Wontons ~ Little Miss Celebration
Watermelon Margaritas ~  Cooking with Curls

My Host Favorite

Fruit and Angel Food Cake are my favorite foods.  So when I saw this Patriot Berry Kabob from The Better Baker.  I just knew that this had to be my host favorite.  This recipe also works great for this week's theme.  It is a quick recipe that you can make and it will make a hit for any party.  Great with any kind of dip.  Thanks for sharing this.

photo credit: The Better Baker

This Week's Party

Welcome to Foodie Friends Friday!

Please take a moment to read through the rules before getting started, Thank You!

*By linking up you agree that you read these rules and all photos/recipes are original and belong to you. You agree to allow Foodie Friends Friday and any of it's affiliated websites or publications (Social Girls Media, LLC) to use photos, links, and recipes for reprint and/or republishing and distribution without monetary compensation to you. If photos & recipes are used, proper link backs to you will be included.

Adding Links back to Foodie Friends Friday and our Button is our only form of advertising to bring in more people to see YOUR recipes.

Please remember to do this. It benefits you! To thank you, we will continue to feature those with links throughout the year on various outlets.

<div align="center"><a href="http://www.foodiefriendsfridaydailydish.com/" title="Foodie Friends Friday" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1271.photobucket.com/albums/jj628/busyvegetarianmom/FFFDDButtonNEW150Darker_zpse238f637.jpg" alt="Foodie Friends Friday" style="border:none;" /></a></div>

An InLinkz Link-up

Apple Gorgonzala Salad

,

I always take vacation between my husband's and my birthday.  Our birthdays are five days apart and many years.  And yes if you have seen pictures of us, I robbed the cradle, am a cougar as he is many years younger then me.  

Anyways this year was no different, I took the time off.  As hubby is living and working downstate for the summer I had to travel there this year.  I did miss his birthday as I got off that morning but we were able to celebrate my birthday together and that is what matters RIGHT?

For the weekend we went to my brother's in Indianapolis.  As my brother's birthday is also in June, we headed over to Buca di Beppo  to celebrate all our birthdays.  This was the first time I had been to this restaurant and I loved it.  We had Fettuccine Alfredo, Prosciutto Stuffed Chicken, Quattro al Forno and Apple Gorgonzala Salad.  Everything was superb and we ate to our fill and had leftover in all except the Apple Gorgonzala Salad.  This salad was so good that we lapped it all up.

I wanted to try to make this salad recipe.  The ingredients for the salad were easy ~ lettuce, dried cranberries, walnuts, gorgonzala and granny smith apples.  The hard part was the dressing.  On their menu they had our signature Italian Vinaigrette.  So I made my own Signature Italian Vinaigrette .  The salad still tasted good, although not quite the same but close.

Apple Gorgonzala Salad

A copy-cat recipe from Buca di Beppo

Ingredient:

Varied types of lettuce (I used Romaine as that is all I had)

Granny Smith Apple- cut in slices

dried cranberries

gorgonzala ( you could also use feta)

walnuts (I used glazed walnuts in the original there is spiced walnuts)

Italian Vinaigrette 

Home-made Italian Vinaigrette

1/3 cup red wine vinegar

1/3 cup olive oil

3/4 tsp oregano

1 tsp salt

pinch black salt (I used black smoked black pepper butcher grind from My Spice Sage)

1 clove garlic

1/2 tsp dried mustard

3/4 tsp fresh thyme

1/2 tsp  hot pepper

Mix all ingredients together in blender until smooth.

To make salad:

On dish, place washed lettuce cut in pieces.  Wash and slice apples and layer on top of lettuce.  Add cranberries, walnuts and gorgonzala.  Drizzle with Italian Vinaigrette and enjoy.

Pair this salad up with some bread and it makes a delicious lunch.  You could also add some chicken and it would be a wonderful simple dinner.

Waiting patiently for our meal to come

and so that you know I was really there, here is a picture with me in it.

I loved all the pictures that they had on the walls.  If you were tired of talking to your companions or had nothing more to talk about, you didn't just have to stare into space, you could check out all the fabulous decor.

Link: In and Out of the Kitchen ,  Simple Supper Tuesday, Tasty Tuesdays, Wednesday Extravaganza, Random Recipe Roundup, Swap and Share Sunday

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• Have you been to a Buca di Beppo lately?