Winner Winner Roasted Chicken Dinner

Have you ever made a meal and been so surprised that you actually pulled it off? So surprised at how fantastic it turned out? So impressed that you, the girl who couldn't cook, just created a masterpiece in the kitchen?

So proud. Just beaming.

That's what happened to me this past weekend. And it was magical to say the least.

Wish you could have been there!

Don't worry I will share this yummy recipe, but first...Let me take you back. Back to where it all began.

My husband and I have been making small simple changes over the past (almost) 5 years to become more of a real, whole food family. But, at the same time self-sufficient in providing some of these foods for our little family. We moved out of our small town where we lived smack dab in the middle of town, to about 70 acres outside of town, up two dirt roads and through the woods to grandmothers house we go...

Oh wait...

70 acres is a lot of space to grow stuff and try a hand in raising a few farm pets or in this case, farm eats.

We started with a lovely little garden a few springs ago. We graduated to laying hens and then soon raised garden beds. More chickens. The introduction of our family Tower Garden this winter was really exciting. And then...we became full on meat chicken farmers.

Why, you ask? Because we REALLY like knowing where our food comes from. And we REALLY like the idea of being able to do it ourselves.

Greg (The Hubs) watched a documentary with me back in January. It was called Fed Up. Have you seen it? If not, go ahead and give it a watch. But be prepared to have some heavy thoughts following. Once you know this stuff, you can't simply "unknow" it. And it could definitely keep you up at night. But knowledge is power, my friends.

We ordered the chickens from a hatchery and they were mailed to us within 24 hours of being hatched. Yes, I said mailed. We ordered 50. They sent 54. Apparently, some don't survive the trip. And one didn't. We moved them into a brooder with lots of warm food, warm water, and warm lights. The key term being warm. Baby chicks will die, very quickly if their environment is not in fact, very warm.

Our Mini Chicken Farmer

Our meat chicks after they first arrived. Cozy in the brooder.

If I am being honest here, I was really nervous about raising an animal to eat. This was the first time in my life that this would happen. Our laying hens are like family pets. They squat down and let you pet them or pick them up for a snuggle. We knew we wouldn't be naming these chicks. And we explained to the kids why. They were okay with it. And through thought and contemplation I became very comfortable with the idea, as well. I knew these chicks would live a good life (all 8 weeks of it) out here on the farm: Non-gmo feed, fresh water, free range (as soon as they got old enough to leave the brooder), Fresh air, fresh grass to graze, and tons of yummy bugs to indulge on. And when the day came to say goodbye to the 47 that survived. I thanked them for their sacrifice. I thanked God for gifting my family with this opportunity. I was not sad to see them go. They were quite the responsibility. Feeding and watering them numerous times a day. Moving them around the pasture when they got too lazy to move themselves. It was work. Like legit farm work.

#farmlifeishardyall

My handsome chicken man.

Hey Chickens!

Greg built this contraption so the chickens could roam free without danger of being a predators dinner. You can see the trail of destruction they leave behind. We moved it everyday!

Greg loaded them up and took them to our local processor. That was one part I had ZERO interest in doing. I did NOT want to kill the chicken, pluck them, or clean them. Nope. I am not there yet. And frankly, I don't think I will ever be. It's a gruesome job, and I am good with paying someone more qualified to do it.

That same afternoon Greg arrived home with 47 beautiful whole chickens. Then...the really fun part. We decided it would be best (for future preparation and cooking purposes) to break them down and vacuum seal them before placing them in our deep freeze. We set up a little processing station on my island. If you ever need motivation to deep clean your kitchen, just have your Honey process 47 chickens in the middle of it. Yuck! Somehow Greg talked his little brother, Kanyon (17) into coming over and lending a helping hand. Poor Kanyon. Greg broke down all 47 of the chickens. How did he learn how to do that? Youtube! You can learn anything from youtube!!!!! THIS video was very handy. We timed him on the last chicken and he broke it down in 2 minutes and 30 seconds. Not bad.

These two had a pretty good system going. 

My freezer is now bursting with chicken! So of course, I couldn't wait to cook with it and give it a taste. I knew I didn't want to distort the natural flavor at first. I wanted to relish in all of our hard work. To actually taste it! And that is how we get here...

I have never pan roasted chicken before and I needed some direction. I went to epicurious.com and THIS post helped walk me through the process.

I made a few changes...

Here is the recipe I used!

Pan Roasted Chicken Thighs 
2 Lbs Bone in Chicken Thighs (mine did not have the skin on)
Salt and Pepper
EVOO (extra virgin olive oil)

I followed the instructions from THIS post. I did not stray until the end when checking my thighs to see if they are done. A couple of my thighs were larger than the others. My meat thermometer didn't reach the correct temp with them at the 13 minute mark and they had to go a few minutes longer. You want your bone in chicken thighs to be 180F from what I have read.

But what to serve with my home grown chicken? That was now the question...

AH HA!

Pan Roasted Chicken Thighs over a Creamy Veggie Quinoa!

So while your chicken is cooking to juicy thigh perfection. Whip this up!

Creamy Veggie Quinoa
1 Cup of Organic Quinoa (cooked in chicken broth instead of water)
3 Cloves Chopped Garlic
2 TBSP EVOO
1 Cup Frozen Peas
2-3 Big Handfuls of Fresh Spinach
1/3 Cup of Chopped Pecans
1/3 Cup Cheese of Choice (I used goat cheese! YUM!)
Palmful (or so) of chopped green onions for the top.

Cook Quinoa as directed on package. Mine always says to rinse, boil water/broth, add quinoa and simmer for 12-15 minutes. Drain any excess liquid. Meanwhile, heat oil in a medium-large skillet on medium heat. Toss in garlic and sauté until fragrant (2 min). Add pecans. Stir for 2 more minutes. Add in quinoa, spinach, and peas. Stir until peas are warmed through and spinach is wilted. Salt and pepper to taste. And then stir in your cheese.

I placed the quinoa on the bottom and then a thigh with green onions sprinkled on top.

Nom-nom-nom-nom

Happy Cooking!!!

Bek