I prepared and cooked chicken two ways because we are using chicken from the first box and the second box. The first box came pre-seasoned, so we merely put the chicken legs straight onto a roasting rack (or roasting pan with no rack) and into a 350-degree oven for 20-30 minutes.

Note: You can add seasoning like paprika, garlic salt, onion powder, or anything you like. The rack simply lifts the item off of the bottom of the pan for a more even roasting. It is not always necessary but it will help it bake faster.

A good rule of thumb for cooking all chicken is to use a thermometer and when it reads 165 degrees Fahrenheit, you are safe! 

The second box that I received from the South Philly Christ Church is not pictured because it was identical to the first, except I got a 2-pound bag of sliced chicken. We had a lot of yogurt left from both boxes so I found a recipe online at budgetbytes.com that included a simple marinade.
 

Yogurt-Marinated Chicken

Ingredients

• 1 cup yogurt
• 4 cloves of garlic, chopped
• 2 Tbsp. lemon juice
• 1 tsp. cinnamon, oregano, and salt
• ½ tsp. nutmeg and cloves
• 2 lbs. of chicken, sliced or pieces (breast, leg, thigh, or even half a chicken)

Instructions

Steps one to three, preparing chicken

1. Combine all the ingredients in a big bowl and mix together until combined.
    
2. Place the chicken in a shallow dish or zip-top bag and pour the yogurt marinade over top. Make sure all sides of the chicken are coated in yogurt, then refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or up to 24 hours.
    
3. When you're ready to cook, heat ½ Tbsp. cooking oil in a large skillet (preferably some sort of non-stick surface) over medium heat. Once hot, add a couple of pieces of chicken and cook on each side until deeply browned. Transfer the cooked chicken to a container and keep cooking until all chicken is adequately seared.
    
4. Lastly, the potatoes! Give them a nice scrub in water and chop them into whatever sizes or shapes you like as long as they are uniform. This will enable them to all cook evenly. In a bowl (per Photo 3), pour some olive oil over them and toss them up nicely with some salt. Use any type of casserole dish or one similar to the roasting pan from above, roasting the potatoes in a 350-degree oven for 35-45 minutes.

Step four from the above instructions

All of these items that we have roasted and baked can be used the next day as leftovers. For example, you could toss them in with eggs and make your own frittata or egg casserole!

Please visit Whitman Library for mask-to-mask, socially distant questions Tuesday or Thursday from 1:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m., or email me with questions at mccauslandr@freelibrary.org.

Stay tuned for more Baking with Becca blog posts!