I love a good roast chicken. It is a great, tasty comfort food and also provides a myriad of possibilities for leftovers(what's better than good leftovers?). Unfortunately though, I find that roast chicken can get bland and dry (think your worst turkey experience). I've definitely played with (and will continue to play) this for a long while and here is what roast chicken looks like for me these days.

Heat oven to 375 degrees F.
I start by buttering the bottom of the roasting pan. Then I chop some carrots (you could use baby carrots, regular carrots, add potatoes - think big!) and a little sliced onion (I prefer red but whatever you have will do nicely. Add a little chicken stock (I use the powdered stuff and add a little bit of water - yeah, I know... whatever) but I wouldn't use more than a cup if you are using liquid. Place the vegetables in the bottom of the roasting pan and sprinkle with a little sea salt.
Inside the chicken I put a big chunk of onion (I usually use the part that I've kept from the bottom when chopping onion for something else), some celery, a few cloves of garlic (whole), pepper sauce, worcestershire sauce (Lea and Perrins) and close the opening with a half a lemon. Place the chicken on top of the vegetables. Rub the chicken with butter (olive oil will work well too) and sprinkle with brown sugar (about 2 tbsp at most) and salt (you could easily sprinkle some herbs here too but I prefer the pure look of the roast with no green on it - just golden!). I like to sprinkle again with Worcestershire sauce and sometimes I'll also do a sprinkle of Soy Sauce and Angostura Bitters
Put foil over the pan and roast for about 45 - 50 min covered. Remove foil and roast for another 15 - 20 min. Just watch to make sure that it doesn't go dry.
What you should have at the end of that is a lovely, golden, crunchy skinned chicken with beautifully roasted carrots. I have also made gravy (take the pan drippings. add about 1 1/2 cups of stock and mix with a paste of water and cornstarch to thicken. Simmer for just a few minutes and season to taste.
Enjoy the fantastic comfort food! Yummmmmmm

I think that food is awesome. It can be mere 'chew and swallow' fare but why... why would anyone do that to themselves? Life is simply too short not to enjoy small, daily pleasures. Having said that, I refuse to believe that daily, 'pop-food' (my own phrase, just created to mirror the term 'pop-culture') cannot have a place in our food repertoire and subsequently our tummies! This recipe is really just one step away from using cheez-whiz to make cheese sauce or with celery sticks. Agh! Who cares, sometimes trashy food is fun, necessary and (yes, I'll say it) fulfilling. With these cookies Rice Crispies adds just the right amount of crunch... totally necessary!

These drop cookies can be bent and adapted in any way you wish really. Ex. you could use M&M's or Smarties instead of chocolate chips. You could add raisins (which I've done on many occasions - I just don't have any in the pantry right now) or nuts - by a handful or two. Let's face it, these are drop cookies not souflees, play at will.

1 egg