Sticky Chicken

I have no idea why this is called Sticky Chicken. We originally got this from a friend who made it for us when our second daughter was born, and she got it from another friend. I've made some changes and a few variations, but the best thing is that it always makes delicious chicken without having to check the temperature and worry about undercooking poultry. It's also a wonderful way to get dinner started before everyone's hungry and have a free afternoon.

Sticky Chicken

4 tsp salt

2 tsp paprika (if you use smoked it's a whole new recipe!)

1 tsp cayenne pepper

1 tsp dried minced onion or onion powder

1 tsp dried thyme

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp black pepper

1 large roasting chicken (washed thoroughly, patted dry)

1 onion, quartered

1 orange, quartered (optional)

Mix dry ingredients, rub over and inside of chicken cavity. It's best if this can sit over night on the bird, and amazingly, it can be rubbed and frozen with the spices already on it.

To roast:

Preheat oven to 250. Place onion (and orange, if using) inside chicken cavity. Roast for 5 hours, basting every 30 minutes starting about halfway though. Don't add any liquid, it will be plenty moist.

What to do with the leftovers?!? Pick the meat off the bones, and use it to make curried chicken salad. This is another recipe that can be made with any number of ingredients, depending on what you have on hand.

Curried Chicken Salad

Shredded chicken

mayo

strained non fat plain yogurt

curry powder

grapes, halved or raisins

celery, chopped

toasted nuts (slivered almonds work really nicely)

Just mix it all together to taste, refrigerate and enjoy. The yogurt adds a nice bite and is much lighter than mayo.

Chicken doesn't have to be boring!