Lemon and Thyme Roast Chicken

Tonight I decided to roast a chicken.  It takes almost no tending once it's in the oven so it's a great choice when I'm just home all day studying.  I went fairly simple on the seasonings and used just salt, pepper, lemon, and thyme.  I decided to try roasting the chicken without adding any oil or butter to the skin (every other time I've used a tablespoon or two of butter or oil to crisp up the skin).  It turned out great!  The skin was surprisingly still crispy and delicious.  And the chicken tasted fantastic -- very clean and delicious.

I served this with stuffing and green beans.  My mother-in-law sent us home with stuffing from Thanksgiving that just needed to be baked.  It is fantastic.  This year she made a sausage stuffing with lots of veggies and herbs.  It's one of the first things to go during the leftover meals.  But luckily this year she made extra.  And we enjoyed it tonight.  :)  As for the green beans, they're just frozen beans, cooked in the microwave, with a little butter added for taste.

This gave us quite a bit of chicken left over.  We had one whole breast, both thighs, and a lot of random pickings.  Overall a very good meal.

Recipe:
1 chicken (mine was 5.4 pounds)
1 lemon, quartered
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1/2 tsp. dried thyme

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
2. Rinse the chicken, inside and out (remove giblets etc. if necessary).  Pat dry.  Cut off any extra fat or skin.
3. Place, breast side up, in a roasting pan.  Tuck the wings under the chicken.  Squeeze half the lemon onto the skin.  Place the whole lemon inside the cavity.  Sprinkle the salt, pepper, and thyme over the skin and inside the cavity.
4. Roast for approximately 90 minutes (depends on size of the chicken -- a good rule of thumb is 20 min. per pound, plus 15-20 minutes).  The chicken is done when a thermometer inserted in the thickest part of the thigh registers 165 degrees and the juices run clear.