Roasted Chicken and Summer Vegetables

A  good roast chicken makes almost anything possible.  It's great for company or a comfort food meal at home.  This is one of my favorite recipes. It's a whole meal in one roasting pan.

This takes about 20 minutes of prep time, requires 1 1/2 - 2 hours in the oven and serves 4 people.

Ingredients:
-whole chicken
- 2/3 c extra virgin olive oil
-1 lemon
-few sprigs of fresh rosemary, thyme or oregano
-8 garlic cloves, unpeeled
-1 lb small, new potatoes
-1 eggplant
-1 red pepper

Steps:
1) Prepare chicken
-Preheat the oven to 400 degrees
-Rub chicken all over with olive oil
-Place 1/2 of the lemon & 1-2 sprig of herbs inside the cavity of the chicken
-Please bird breast side down in large roasting pan
-Roast for about 30 minutes

2) Prepare vegetables
-Chop eggplant into 1 inch pieces
-Remove seeds from red pepper & cut into 1 inch pieces
-If potatoes are on the larger side, cut into quarters
 
3) Add potatoes to chicken
-Remove chicken from the oven & season with salt
-Turn chicken over
-Paste with juices from pan
-Add potatoes to roasting pan, pour enough olive oil to coat
-Roast for an additional 30 minutes

4) Add vegetables
-Add eggplant, red pepper, garlic cloves, remaining sprigs of herbs to pan
-Slice remaining 1/2 lemon and add to pan
-Drizzle vegetables with remaining olive oil
-Season with salt and pepper
-Return to oven for additional 30-50 minutes
-Baste and turn vegetables every 15 minutes
-Chicken is finished when meat thermometer is at 165 degrees or when juices run clear
 
5) Serve and enjoy!!