Lemon Chicken with Double-Duty Veggies

Yes, another chicken! They're just so handy and make great leftovers. I mean, why cook breakfast, lunch and dinner every day if you don't have to?

For the Lemon Chicken:

1 whole chicken, 4-5 lbs (I buy the free range chicken...it makes me feel better)
3 lemons
2 Tablespoons olive oil
4 cloves garlic, smashed and minced
1/2 teaspoon ground oregano
Sea salt and pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Zest two of the lemons. By "zest" I mean grate off the outer-yellow part of the lemon peel. Try to do this without getting much of the white part, which is more bitter. You can do this by using a microplaner, zester (I know right....zest it with a zester...) or cheese grater. Either way just try to avoid grating off the white part....or your fingers :). Put the zest into a small mixing bowl. Juice the two lemons and add the juice to the bowl as well. Next stir in the olive oil, garlic, oregano and some salt and pepper. Mix well.

Rub this mixture all over the outside of the chicken. Make sure to save some and rub on the inside cavity of the chicken as well. (At this point you could do this the day before or the morning of and leave in the fridge to marinate and get super tasty. Or you can prep just beforehand-both options produce finger-lickin' chicken.) After you've rubbed all of the lemon mixture on the chicken, cut the remaining lemon into 4-5 rounds, and place inside the chicken cavity.

Cook the chicken until cooked through (as if you didn't know that, right?), about 1.25-1.5 hrs depending on the size of your bird.

For the Zucchini and Carrots:

2 whole zucchini
2 large whole carrots
1 Teaspoon dried onion flakes
1 Teaspoon dried parsley
1 Teaspoon coconut oil
Sea Salt and Pepper to taste

Cut the zucchini and carrots into ribbons. You can do this with a wide vegetable peeler. You'll need to apply a lot more pressure while using this method to get thicker strips than if you were just peeling the vegetables. If you don't have a wide vegetable peeler you can just cut into thin slices, or chop into rounds. It's just prettier in ribbons.

Heat the coconut oil in a large saute pan over medium heat. Add in the carrots and cook for 2 minutes or so, tossing around while cooking. Add in the zucchini ribbons along with the onion and parsley, salt and pepper and cook just until done, about 5 minutes or so. Be careful not to overcook them. If you're making the ribbons they will cook quickly since they're so thin. Enjoy!

For the Chard:

2 bunches of red chard
Salt and Pepper to taste
2 Teaspoons coconut oil
1/4 cup water (if needed)

Wash the chard and cut into 2-inch pieces. Heat a large soup pot over medium heat and add in the coconut oil. Once melted, add in the chard and salt and pepper. Cover and let cook just until done, about 8-10 minutes or so. Watch the chard and make sure it has a bit of moisture in the pot, adding up to 1/4 cup water if needed throughout cooking. This is just your basic cooked chard folks. You could add garlic, onions or a myriad of other spices, but I just left it plain to go along with the other veggies and lemon in the chicken.