Juicy Roasted Chicken

This was the first recipe that I used to make roast chicken. It received 4.5 stars out of 870 reviews on Allrecipe.com. That alone tells me it's a winner. What I love about it is how simple the ingredients are. It takes my oven nearly two hours to bake (rather than the 1 hour and 15 minutes it suggests) but when I'm busy doing other things I don't even notice the time pass.

This is a great recipe to make on a Sunday afternoon. Then you have dinner ready for that night and lunch meat for sandwiches the next morning. Last time I made this I saved all the meat for Chicken enchiladas the next day.

Ingredients:

1 (3 pound) whole chicken, giblets removed

salt and black pepper to taste

1 tablespoon onion powder, or to taste

1/2 cup margarine, divided (I use butter since I don't have margarine)

1 stalk celery, leaves removed

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F

2. Place chicken in a roasting pan, and season generously inside and out with salt and pepper. Sprinkle inside and out with onion powder. Place 3 tablespoons margarine in the chicken cavity. Arrange dollops of the remaining margarine around the chicken's exterior.
3. Cut the celery into 3 or 4 pieces, and place in the chicken cavity.

4. Bake uncovered 1 hour and 15 minutes in the preheated oven, to a minimum internal temperature of 180 degrees F (82 degrees C). Remove from heat, and baste with melted margarine and drippings. Cover with aluminum foil, and allow to rest about 30 minutes before serving.

Thank you Allrecipes for this awesome dish.