Weeknight Inspiration: Sage and Lemon Roasted Chicken

I know, I know.  You think: how could roasting a whole chicken and getting into all that mess be good for weeknight inspiration.  But it couldn't have been easier and was delish and quite cost friendly.  I purchased a whole organic chicken it and ran me just under $8 and we got several meals out of it (if you count leftovers which I love).  You can't buy four chicken breasts for that anymore! 

In addition to the chicken, all you need is:
1 lemon
2 large bunches of sage
chopped veggies (optional)
honey
salt and pepper
blackening seasoning (optional)
chicken broth
olive oil

The hardest part of this whole meal was cleaning out the gizzards from the chicken.  And even this wasn't hard; it took two seconds.  It was just disgusting.  Usually I have my husband do it but he was still at work so I braved it.  Now that I've done it, I know I could do it again.  Anyway, get out the gizzards and leave your chicken out of the fridge to get the chill off.

Get out your veggies.  Use whatever you want or have on hand.  I had leeks, celery, onion, garlic and carrot - made a great side dish without having to do an extra step!  Chop up all veggies except lemon and sage.

Set your chicken on a baking sheet.  Cut the lemon in quarters and and squeeze the juice of two quarters over the chicken.  Stuff those lemon pieces inside the chicken and stuff the sage in as well.  Season the chicken with the salt, pepper, and blackening seasoning (optional).  Toss the veggies on the baking sheet around the chicken.  Season those with the remaining lemon juice (you can toss those lemon pieces right on the tray with the veggies) and season with salt and pepper.  Drizzle everything with a little bit of honey and drizzle a little olive oil.  Sprinkle a small amount of chicken broth over the veggies.

Bake at 400 degrees for approximately one hour - until the chicken reaches 180 degrees with a meat thermometer. 

We had ours with rice and green beans and the roasted veggies on the side.  Simple and yummy!