Roast Chicken with Potatoes and Butternut Squash

The roast chicken was just your typical version, but the butternut squash and red potatoes were what made this meal really good. This was the first time I had tried butternut squash, it I would have to say that it is now my favorite type of squash. It has a really smooth, buttery-sweet taste that went well with the chicken and the potatoes. I liked that the vegetables were on the roasting pan around the chicken instead of soaking in the juice of the meat.

Prep: 15 minutes
Cook: 1 hour 30 minutes
Yield: 4 servings
Cost: $1.62 per serving (about $7.50)

• 2 tablespoons minced garlic, divided
• 1 teaspoon salt, divided
• 3/4 teaspoon ground pepper, divided
• 1/2 teaspoon dried sage
• 1 (3 1/2 pound) roasting chicken
• Cooking spray
• 12 ounces red potatoes, cut into wedges
• 1 1/2 cups cubed peeled butternut squash (about 8 ounces)
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted

1. Preheat oven to 400
2. Combine 1 1/2 tablespoons garlic, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, and sage in a small bowl.
3. Remove and discard giblets and neck from chicken. Starting at neck cavity, loosen skin from breast and drumsticks by inserting fingers, gently pushing between skin and meat. Lift wing tips up and over back; tuck under chicken. Rub garlic mixture under loosened skin. Place chicken breast side up, on rack of a broiler pan coated with cooking spray. Place rack in broiler pan.
4. Combine potatoes, squash, butter, 1 1/2 teaspoons garlic, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Arrange vegetable mixture around chicken.
5. Bake at 400 for 1 1/2 hours or until a thermometer inserted into meaty part of thigh registers 165. Let stand 10 minutes. Discard skin.

Nutrition: (3 ounces check and about 3/4 cup vegetables): 399 calories, 12.1 g fat, 5 g saturated fat, 3.2 mono fat, 1.7 g poly fat, 43.8 g protein, 25.9 g carbohydrate, 3.4 g fiber, 147 mg cholesterol, 3.5 mg iron, 791 mg sodium, 77 mg calcium.