Herb-Butter Roast Chicken and Red Peel Potatoes

This one was tough, as my daughter decided to throw a screaming fit after I'd just rinsed out the chicken and begun to mix the herb butter, so there are very few photos this time. I was going back and forth between letting her scream her head off for a few minutes (mainly because I wasn't paying direct attention to her) and rubbing herb butter over a raw chicken. Needless to say my hands got washed numerous times and I was frazzled enough to forget photos. I finally managed to get things done after I put her down for a nap in her dark bedroom though. Phew!

Ingredients for chicken:

2-3 pound (or so) whole chicken
3 Tbsp butter (warmed or room temperature)
1/4 tsp basil
1/4 tsp rubbed sage
1/8 tsp oregano
1/8 tsp garlic pepper

Heat oven to 350 F. Remove chicken from packaging and discard giblets, rinsing off chicken under running water inside and out. Mix butter and herbs in a bowl (I used a spatula, but your fingers would work too). Place chicken on rack in roasting pan, then rub butter mixture all over skin (and under the skin if you can peel the skin from the meat a little) and inside cavity. Bake/Roast uncovered for 1 hr. 15-30 minutes (depending on weight of bird).

Ingredients for Potatoes:

5 red potatoes
3 Tbsp butter
1/4 cup milk
1 tsp seasoned salt
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
1 Tbsp parsley flakes
1/4 tsp basil leaves (dry)
1/4 tsp garlic powder or garlic pepper
1/4 tsp onion powder

Wash potatoes then cut off any unusable/bruised parts and, using the end of a potato peeler, pick out the biggest eyes on each potato. Chop potatoes into small chunks (do not peel!) then put in a pot and add enough water to just cover potatoes. Boil for 20-25 minutes or until potatoes can be easily pricked with a fork. Drain, then return to pot. Add remaining ingredients and mash potatoes.

Serve with a side of corn or peas, or a vegetable to your liking. This meal will serve four people easily, or three people very large portions.