A wonderful way to make dinner is to roast everything in the oven - this process is attendance-free, efficient and impressive in the way it looks and adds aroma to your house. This whole chicken pictured above was only $4.79 at Walmart (they are running about $8-9 in our grocery store) so I bought it and put it in the freezer for a special day, knowing I can defrost it easily in the microwave. There is something about a roasted chicken that reminds me of the meals my grandmother used to make.
Here is the menu:
- Herb roasted chicken
- Winter Squash
- Potato Casserole with carrots, onions and herbs
- Pink Apple Pie (crustless)
- Tossed salad
Herb roasted chicken:
1 chicken, whole, defrosted
2 bayleaves
1 tsp each: dried thyme, granulated garlic, rosemary, black pepper
Preheat the oven to 325F. Rinse the chicken in cold water and put it in the glass baking dish. Rub the outside with dried thyme, rosemary, granulated garlic and black pepper and put bay leaves inside. I roasted it uncovered to an internal temperature of 180F, which took 90 minutes.
Winter squash: Cut 1 butternut squash into quarters and remove the seeds. Put in a glass baking dish and cover with foil and place in the oven with the chicken. It takes about 80 minutes to bake.
Potato casserole:
3 small baking potatoes
1 onion
1 cup baby carrots or sliced carrots
Rinse potatoes to remove loose dirt. Cut in slices, along with onions and carrots. Place them in a baking dish. Drizzle with a little olive oil and toss with granulated garlic and parsley mix and black pepper. Cover with foil and bake in the oven for 70 minutes.
Pink apple pie:
3 apples, cut in wedges
1 cup leftover berries
1/4 cup pomegranate juice or any juice
Cut apples in wedges and toss with some berries and juice - in this case we were using old berries from a photo shoot. Cover and bake one hour.
If you notice, I started putting the longest-baking items in the oven first and everything came out at once in the end.
Here are pix:
I served the potatoes, winter squash and salad on the plate with just a few slices of chicken. The leftover chicken was made into 2 more great meals the following days:
- Chicken sandwich on whole wheat bread with lettuce, grapes, baby carrots and yogurt
- Chicken and rice:
1 cup brown rice
2 cups water
1 cup chopped chicken (bone and skin free)
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped red pepper
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup peas
1 tsp each: coriander, granulated garlic with parsley
1/2 tsp chili powder
Place all of the ingredients in a rice cooker, cover and cook until done, about 30 minutes. You can also put all in a pan with a lid and cook on medium-low heat until done. This dish is done when all water is evaporated and the rice is done.
I served the Chicken and Rice with a few tortilla chips for garnish and a big green salad on the side!
Here are the new products we are making - some fun posters and one more to come that shows all different foods at 100 calories each!

Judy’s passion for cooking began with helping her grandmother make raisin oatmeal for breakfast. From there she earned her first food service job at 15, was accepted to the world famous Culinary Institute of America at 18 (where she graduated second in her class), and went on to the Fachschule Richemont in Switzerland where she focused on pastry arts and baking. But after learning that the quality of a croissant directly varies with how much butter it has, Judy sought to challenge herself by coming up with recipes that were as healthy as they were tasty.
Judy received The Culinary Institute of America’s Pro Chef II certification, the American Culinary Federation Bronze Medal, Gold Medal, and ACF Chef of the Year. Her enthusiasm for eating nutritiously and deliciously leads her to constantly innovate and use the latest in nutritional science to guide her creativity, from putting new twists on fajitas to adapting Italian brownies to include ingredients like toasted nuts and cooked honey. Judy’s publishing company, Food and Health Communications, is dedicated to her vision that everyone can make food that tastes as good as it is for you.