Roasted Chicken in a Bag

This is one of those easy-to-make recipes that is great for company. For my long-time blog followers, this recipe is a repeat. This is one that our MOPS table made last week and, so far, everyone who has tried it has enjoyed it. Since we were all cooking for smaller families, we just used half the amounts of veggies, stock, and spices with a four-pound chicken, and it still turned out great. See the bottom for freezing directions.

 For 6-8 servings

1 5-7 lb. roaster chicken
2 TB. Vegetable oil
2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. dried thyme
½ tsp. black pepper
1 large oven cooking bag
1 16-oz bag of peeled baby carrots
1 lb. new potatoes (small red potatoes) – use the ones in the produce section, not canned
1 12-oz package of celery sticks
1 large onion, sliced
½ C. chicken stock

Preheat oven to 350 F. Rinse cavity of chicken and pat dry with paper towels. Prepare cooking bag according to manufacturer’s directions. Place chicken in bag. Rub outside of chicken with oil, sprinkle on salt, thyme, and pepper. Surround chicken with carrots, potatoes, celery, and onions. Add stock to bag and close bag according to manufacturer’s directions. ** Place cooking bag with chicken and veggies on large baking sheet. Bake for 1 ½ hours until chicken reaches 160F, the remove from oven. Let chicken rest 10 minutes before cutting.

MAKE AHEAD
**To make ahead, follow recipe up to the point of cooking it. Tie up the cooking bag tightly, then put the entire thing into a 2-gallon ziplock bag before freezing it. Thaw completely in the refrigerator, then cook as instructed above.