Baked Chicken

For so many years I have been only buying boneless skinless chicken breasts. We have been brought up believing how much healthier it was for us. Nina writes in the first chapter of her book, Real Food, that just as you would eat the whole apple, we should eat the whole meat. When we eat only the chicken breast we are getting the muscle, which is good, but we are missing out on the nutrients in the skin, bone, and fat.

I have also found that whole chicken is usually on sale because everyone is buying the skinless breasts. I don't know if I love Nina's ideas on food because it allows me to not feel guilt when eating full fat foods or because it really makes sense in my mind. Why wouldn't we eat the whole apple?

I love Martha Stewart's magazine Everyday Food. All her recipes call for real food, and they are always simple and delicious! This baked chicken is from the October 2009 issue, however I modified it a little.

1 whole chicken cut up into 8 pieces

(Breasts halved crosswise)

1 large red onion

1 head garlic

(cloves separated and left unpeeled)

6 sprigs thyme

1 lemon quartered

1 lime quartered

1/4 cup olive oil

2tbsp. balsamic vinegar

salt and pepper

Arrange chicken, onions, garlic, thyme and citrus in roasting pan. whisk together oil and vinegar in a bowl. Toss, combine, and season. Make sure skin side is up. Roast at 450 degrees until browned and cooked through, about 50 minutes.

Because there are only two eating at my home and I don't have a roasting pan big enough for all that, I halved this recipe. Martha also put a pound of potatoes quartered in the pan. I made my separate. I have made this recipe several different ways and its always delicious. I've made it with parsley and basil, I have minced the garlic and mixed it in with the oil and vinegar, and I've added carrots. You can't go wrong with this recipe.