Roast Chicken with Herb Mushrooms

If you have been following my blog for awhile you know that roasting a chicken is one of my favorite things to do to stretch a dollar.  This week they are on sale for $1.28 lb.  Really in the scope of food cost that is next to nothing!  I wanted to try this recipe because it had off the chart reviews.  Too be honest, it is nothing more than a basic roast chicken with an impressive look if you are serving guests.  Of course, it uses bacon; and, as the saying goes, everything is better with bacon.  You give up the crispy skin of a roast chicken when you wrap the breast this way.  However, it keeps the meat juicy and tender.  The lemon and thyme give it just a hint of herb flavor.  We liked the roasted mushrooms.  They were earthy and caramelized.  Very tasty!  I added a side of roasted potatoes* and Hanover Pennsylvania vegetables (which I had never tried-but they were on sale, so all the better to take a chance.  Delicious-corn, carrots, beans and dried cranberries, an unexpected surprise!).
This made for a great Sunday dinner; and I plan on making chicken salad with the leftovers for lunches and using the bones for stock.  One cannot pass up the value of a whole chicken!

*Just a heads up, I have a fabulous Red Wine Stew started for tomorrow, so check back!

Sale items from the Shop 'n Save flyer:
Whole Chicken
Baby Bella mushrooms
Bacon
Potatoes
Hanover Frozen Vegetables

Pantry:
olive oil
garlic
onion
lemon
thyme

Roast Chicken with Herb Mushrooms
printable recipe

1 (5-6 lb.) whole roaster chicken
kosher salt and pepper
1 medium onion, peeled and quartered
1 lemon, half sliced, the other half quartered
6-7 cloves garlic, peeled and lightly smashed
1 bunch fresh Thyme
1 1/2 tsp. olive oil, more for drizzling
1/2 bacon strips, cut in half
1-2 lbs. whole Cremini or baby Bella mushrooms

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Rinse the chicken and pat dry with a paper towel.  Season the inside cavity generously with salt and pepper.
In a small bowl combine the onion quarters, lemon quarters (reserve the slices), garlic, half of the thyme, and 1 1/2 tsp. olive oil.

Stuff mixture into the cavity of the chicken.

Fold the wing tips under the bird, and tie up the legs with kitchen twine.
Place on a rack in a roaster pan, breast side up.  Lay the bacon strips, slightly overlapping over the breast meat.

Lay the lemon slices on top.  Sprinkle with remaining thyme.
Season all over with salt and pepper.  Drizzle with a slight amount of olive oil.

Roast for 1 hour, basting half way with pan juices.
Add the mushrooms to the pan, moving them around to coat in the pan juices.

Roast for an additional hour or until the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees.
Allow to rest 15 minutes before serving.
*If you would like, in a baking dish add 3-4 potatoes, peeled and cut into one inch pieces along with several cloves of peeled garlic.  Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.  Toss the potatoes to coat in the oil.  Add these to the oven during the last hour of roasting the chicken. Yum, crunchy, garlicky goodness!