Recipe: Roast Chicken with Yam and Apple Stuffing (freeze ahead)

ROAST CHICKEN WITH YAM AND APPLE STUFFING

FOR THE CHICKEN:
1 whole chicken (about 4 pounds)
2 tablespoons chopped fresh herbs: rosemary, thyme, basil, tarragon, fennel, sage or bay leaves (optional)
1/2 lemon
1 cup butter
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
FOR THE STUFFING:
1 pound ground spicy or mild sausage, cooked
1 cup sauteed chopped onion
2 Granny Smith apples, peeled and diced
1/2 cup apple juice
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 can (29 ounces) sweet potatoes or yams, drained and diced (about 3 cups)
9 cups soft white bread crumbs (or wheat or focaccia bread crumbs)
1 cup chicken stock or broth

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

Remove giblets from chicken (discard or save for another use), rinse chicken, and wipe inside and out with paper towels. If using herbs, press them under the skin of each chicken breast half. Squeeze and rub half a lemon inside cavity. Rub 1/4 cup butter inside cavity, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Truss or tie the legs and wings securely with twine. Place chicken on its side in roasting pan, and rub butter on exposed side.

Roast for 20 minutes.

Melt remaining butter.

Turn chicken onto other side and brush with melted butter. Roast another 20 minutes.

Place bird on its back and baste with pan juices. Roast another 20 minutes. Baste again.

If necessary, roast another 10 to 15 minutes until juices run clear, or until a meat thermometer reads 165 degrees F. Spoon in the stuffing right before serving, or serve stuffing separately.

TO MAKE THE STUFFING:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

In a large roasting pan, combine sausage with all stuffing ingredients and mix thoroughly.

Bake, covered, for 20 minutes, then bake, uncovered, for 10 minutes more.

TO FREEZE AND REHEAT:
Freeze the stuffing separately in a bag or tight container. Wrap chicken in serving sizes for quicker thawing, or as an entire bird, if desired. Thaw the whole chicken for 1 1/2 days in the refrigerator before reheating and serving. In a conventional oven, reheat, covered, at 400 degrees for 40 minutes.

Servings: 4
Adapted from source: The Once-a-Week Cooking Plan by Joni Hilton