Foooooooood, yummmmm

I did some more cooking yesterday and it turned out AMAZING!! If you don't believe me just ask Jennie, Teesha, or Teesha's MOM!  I got to meet her... woo hoo!!  She is an amazing woman and I had a great time with all three of them.

Originally Jennie and I were going to cook together to make dinner however Jennie had to help out a friend so planned changed a bit and I made dinner.  What did I make?  For starters...

French Chicken in a Pot

• 1 whole roasting chicken, giblets removed and discarded (mine was a little over 4 lbs)
  2 teaspoons kosher salt or 1 teaspoon table salt
  1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper 
• 1 teaspoon chicken seasoning
• 1 package fresh poultry herbs (rosemary, sage, thyme)
• 1/2 lemon + zest
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
  1 small onion , chopped medium (about 1/2 cup)
  2 small stalk celery , chopped medium (about 1/4 cup)
  6 medium garlic cloves , peeled and trimmed
  1 bay leaf
• 1/2 - 1 teaspoon juice from 1 lemon 
• corn starch
  

1. Adjust oven rack to lowest position and heat oven to 350 degrees. 
2. Pat chicken dry with paper towels and season with salt, pepper, and chicken seasoning. Stuff the chicken with some of the poultry herbs and 1/2 lemon plus zest.
   
3. Heat oil in large Dutch oven (mine was 5 qts) over medium heat until just smoking. Add chicken breast-side down; scatter onion, celery, garlic, bay leaf, and the rest of the poultry herbs around chicken. 
4. Cook until breast is lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Using a wooden spoon to flip chicken breast-side up and cook until chicken and vegetables are well browned, 6 to 8 minutes. 
5. Remove Dutch oven from heat; place large sheet of foil over pot and cover tightly with lid. Transfer pot to oven and cook until instant-read thermometer registers 160 degrees when inserted in thickest part of breast and 175 degrees in thickest part of thigh, 80 to 110 minutes.
6. Transfer chicken to carving board, tent with foil, and rest 20 minutes. 
7. Meanwhile, strain chicken juices from pot through fine-mesh strainer; discard solids (you should have about 3/4 cup juices).  Pour into saucepan, add lemon juice and set over low heat.  Add corn starch to thicken. 
8. Carve chicken, adding any accumulated juices to saucepan.

On the side, I made Cabbage Soup (this is the weight watchers version, not sure if that matters to you or not)...

Cabbage Soup

3 cups vegetable broth
3 cups water
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 small can tomato paste
4 cups chopped cabbage
2 onions, chopped
1/2 cup chopped carrot
1 cup green beans
2 zucchini, chopped
1/2 teaspoon basil
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
salt and pepper to taste

Spray pot with non stick cooking spray saute onions carrots and garlic for 5 minutes. Add broth, Tomato paste, cabbage, green beans, basil, oregano and salt/pepper to taste. Simmer for a about 5-10 minutes until all vegetables are tender then add the zuccini and simmer for another 5 or so minutes.