The Cooks: Date night

Of late our schedules are so busy that by the time it says Friday evening we are usually walking like zombies eagerly waiting to get to bed which equals not going out much. We are encourage by the church to take time off for ourselves as couples. There are two days that one is free from their calling if I may use that phrase it is not a break from ones calling. Mondays and Fridays. Monday is for family home evening and Friday is date night for the parents. We aka the cooks are believers that parents or couples even without children should take time off to spend some down time with their spouse. When we are not swamped by life's obligations we usually go out on a date, on the other hand if we are so tired to go out we have a date night at home. Its not a must to go out as its usually expensive and for families with children it just gives the couple that time to be alone from the kids. We have dinner at the table and chill out by watching series or a movie. Cell phones are usually switched off or put on silent to avoid any interruptions. On Friday I decided to make a chicken roast with baked potatoes and veges. I got the recipes by mixing Jamie Oliver's and Nigella Lawson's recipes. I have tried both recipes individually before and the combination of the two came to number one on our list.
Ingredients:
Whole chicken
parsley
sage
carrots
1 lemon
onions
potatoes
spices
olive oil
black pepper

Chop the veges ie carrots,onions, potatoes to smaller pieces

Mix the chopped veges and stuff the chicken with some veges and leave space for the lemon.
A trick from Jamie was to put the lemon in the microwave for 40 seconds and it actually brings the juice out.
Pierce the lemon at several points with a knife then stuff it in the chicken..Make sure its fully stuff .
And tie the chicken legs together with a string. I didn't have a thick string so i used normal sewing thread but folded over several times till it was thick enough.

Place the chicken on a tray and marinade it/braise with some olive oil.and add some black pepper and spices .And some of the remaining veges around the chicken and also sprinkle some olive oil over it.
Pour some water not a lot I used half a cup on the tray underneath the foil over it. It helps to keep the chicken moist.

And put in the pre heated oven at 170 degrees for an hour and 20 mins and leave to cook .
When the chicken is done it turns a olden brown. I preferred to keep it longer to crisp it.

The potatoes, I cheated , I boiled them first then braised them with olive oil and placed to bake till crisp in the oven.
And enjoy !!

Before sitting down the babies had to have their dinner too in order to join us by the table. They don't beg while we at the table they sit and wait.When we are done they have their share of people food as well.