Roast Chicken, Roasted Carrots and Parsnips, Roasted Beets and Fennel, Baked Yams, Sauteed Greens

Baking and roasting are two (of many) very similar techniques for using the oven that I'm utilizing to make the dishes bellow. The original recipes were within 25 degrees Fahrenheit, so I just put them all into the oven together at 400 degrees F because that's close enough. If the temperature had been 50 or more off, then I could not have done this. Also, certain items that cook for short amounts of time or are large and solid have a hard time going to a different temperature. The greens I just sauteed in a pan, though I think that if I do this again in the future that I will make 2 to 3 times as much due to the unexpected amount the greens cooked down. Everything is gluten free and dairy free except for the yams, which are deliciously terrible for you.

Roast Chicken
Serves 12

Ingredients:
6 pound whole chicken with neck and gizzards removed (that's all the bonus stuff inside that can be used, along with the carcass, to make chicken stock)
6 sprigs fresh rosemary to stuff inside of chicken
4 sprigs of fresh rosemary, removed from stem and minced (that just means chopped really small)
3 cloves garlic
Olive oil
Salt and pepper

Preparation:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Stuff chicken with whole sprigs of rosemary and garlic cloves to add aroma and help keep the chicken moist
3. Run your hand under the skin covering the breast meat to make a pocket for the chopped rosemary and place chopped rosemary evenly under the skin of the breast.
4. Cover all of the skin in olive oil to allow it to crisp nicely without burning.
5. Grind salt and pepper over the skin to taste.
6. Lay on a bed of root veggies, like the carrots and parsnips listed bellow.
7. Roast until the internal temperature of the breast meat reaches 170 degrees F, about 1.5 hours.
8. Let rest for at least 10 minutes before carving to allow juices to settle, this will keep it nice and moist on the inside and the skin will be lovely.

Roasted Carrots and Parsnips
Serves 12

Ingredients:
6 large carrots, peeled and chopped into fork size pieces
6 large parsnips, peeled and chopped into fork size pieces
2-3 Tbs olive oil
Fresh tarragon

Preparation:
1. Mix all ingredients together.
2. Bake at 400 degrees F in a dish until slightly tender, about 1.5 hours, turning about every fifteen minutes. If making with the rest of the dishes listed here, make sure they still have a bit of texture to them so that not everything is mushy in the meal.

Roasted Beets and Fennel
Serves 12

Ingredients:
3 large beets, peeled and cut into fork size pieces with greens reserved for Sauteed Greens listed bellow.
2 large fennel bulbs, chopped into fork size pieces with stalks and tough parts discarded
2-3 Tbs olive oil
Fresh tarragon


Preparation:
1. Mix all ingredients together.
2. Bake at 400 degrees F in a dish until tender, about 1.5 hours, turning about every fifteen minutes. Dish is done when fennel can be easily pierced with a fork.


Baked Yams
Serves 12

Ingredients:
12 lbs sweet potatoes or yams, peeled and cubed
12 Tbs butter
1 1/2 cups dark brown sugar
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground all spice
1/2 tsp ground cloves
2 packages marshmallows

Preparation:
1. In a sauce pan over medium heat, melt butter.
2. Add brown sugar, ginger, all spice, and clove, mix until everything is combined.
3. Pour sugar mixture over yams and toss to coat. (Wash your sauce pan right away, or at least, leave it to soak or it will be impossible to clean later.)
4. Bake at 400 degrees F in a baking dish until tender, about 1 hour, stirring the yams every fifteen minutes to coat with sugar glaze.
5. Cover yams in marshmallows and increase oven to 500 degrees F, bake until marshmallows are golden, about 3 minutes.

Sauteed Greens
Makes about 2 cups

Ingredients:
1 huge bag of Power Greens
Leaves from beets, chopped into 1 inch pieces
olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Preparation:
1. In a skillet over high heat, warm oil until fragrant but not smoking.
2. Add greens, you might need more than one round but they cook really fast so it shouldn't be a problem.
3. Stir constantly until the greens have wilted and turned a deeper green.
4. Put into serving dish. Salt and pepper to taste.