Got a chicken to roast this afternoon - can anyone inspire me to do something slightly more interesting than the usual spuds and two veg with it?

[poachedeggs]

That's it really. Normally we have gravy (homemade natch ), mashed or boiled tatties, carrots and peas. It's the DC's favourite dinner after spag bol and pizza but it's so boooring.

I have courgettes, peppers, mushrooms, corn on the cob, onion, garlic, a leek, the usual spices and stuff.

I suppose I could also do Yorkshire puds with it ....

Sweetcorn and tomato salsa with wedges?

Boil it whole. Then take it out of the water and remove skin and bones. When the water has cooled a little, skim the top to remove fat and other crap.
Boil some veg in the chicken water (potatoes, carrots, leek, swede, anything you like). When veg is cooked, put chicken back in.

Lovely soup!

I'd do an "american" meal with it.

Go spice up the chicken with some Cajun spice mix rubbed onto the skin.

Serve with potato wedges and corn on the cob slathered in butter.

(I'd make a macaroni cheese as well but that's because I am disgusting)

dauphinoise and ratatouille?

I do roast veg with mine - peppers, courgette, onion, fennel, cauliflower, carrots, new potatoes - whatever you have to hand, really! Drizzle with olive oil, and season with black pepper and sea salt - sometimes I add chilli flakes too. Takes around 30-40 minutes to roast them so that they're beautifully soft.

And re the chicken, cut up two lemons and stuff them into the cavity of the bird; olive oil and some thyme on the bird as well as seasoning.

Lots of crusty bread to mop all the juices that come from both chicken and the veg.

I love this Delia Smith lemon chicken recipe

OMG

Great ideas, thank you. Just have to decide on one now! :)

make the macaroni cheese, make the macaroni cheese.

I do one from a Southern Soul Food recipe site and it is...AWESOME

I can link if you want?

Link me!

This is how it starts, poachedeggs. Before you know it you'll be mainlining spaghetti.

mac n cheese

Seriously, this stuff is mental.

pic of the one I made.

I didn't put as much cheese in as the recipe calls for, I think I used half the amount, which was still a pound of cheese.

I didn't see you there BIWI.

Holy crap!

DH weirdo doesn't like mac cheese so I'd have to eat it all by myself share it between the DC and myself. Hmmmmm. Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.

Seriously, poachedeggs, my children (well teenagers) ADORE this stuff, it's one of their favourite meals. Combine it with some chicken and corn and they're like putty in my hands.

Mmmm Mac and cheese.

Sorry BIWI, aren't you on bootcamp at the moment?

Stuffing with chorizo and red onion. That's what we're having tonight with roast chicken. It's a firm fave here.

Baked spuds and ratatouille.
And the lemon up the bum thing with the chicken.

Mix the peppers, leek, mushrooms, courgette with some garlic and paprika, and roast in the chicken tin, adding some stock or white wine towards the end. Then while your chicken is resting, stir some creme fraiche or sour cream into the peppery mixture. Serve with rice - yum.

This is lovely:

Rub the chicken down with butter and herbs - put some under the skin if you like. Peel a large lemon until it's a pulpy quivering mass, and insert it in the cavity. Place the bird in a high-sided oven tray with a rack. Under the rack place two thinly sliced yellow peppers, some garlic, a large finely chopped red onion, plenty of salt and pepper, half a bottle of white wine and a tablespoon of olive oil. Foil up the tray over the chicken, right around the edges, sealing it in, so as little moisture as possible can escape from it. Follow the cooking instructions for the required weight.

The heat will steam the bird, the lemon will eventually burst inside, and all of the juices drip off under the rack, mixing with the veg to create a lovely thick gravy. And take the foil off 20 minutes before it's finished, to brown the skin.

I've just come on to cry about the mac cheese.
God it sounds amazing.

Make it stringcheese (appropriate name) MAAAKEEE IIIIIT.

Mmmmm. Mac cheese.

Not much of a fan of roast chicken, but this was surprisingly tasty:

www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/5928/rosemary-and-balsamic-chicken-with-roast-onions