Mommy's Famous Roast Chicken & Broccoli

Here's the recipe for The Youngest's favorite food (that I cook) which he dubbed "Mommy's Famous Roast Chicken". He's so cute.

One whole chicken, apx. 3.5 to 4 pounds
1.5 to 2 pounds skinless chicken thighs

Seasonings:
Poultry Seasoning (I like the store brand from The Fresh Market)
Dill
Salt
Pepper
Garlic Powder

Pre-heat oven to 465 degrees; 475 for a larger chicken. Trim the whole chicken and thighs of all visible fat and place in a roasting pan with a lid. (I use a black one with white speckles I picked up at Wal Mart; they come in different sizes and I think the one I use is the medium size.) Sprinkle the seasonings as follows:
Heavy on the dill
Salt to taste
Heavy on the poultry seasoning
Sprinkling of pepper
Sprinkling of garlic powder (I put this only on the thighs since DH doesn't like it but I do)

Cover the pan and cook in the oven for 80 to 90 minutes depending on the size of the chicken. When you take it out of the oven and remove the lid let it rest for 10 minutes or so before cutting it up. We pair this with plain pasta and steamed broccoli for an everyday family meal or homemade mashed potatoes and gravy for company.

If you are going to use the leftovers for another recipe the easiest time to "pick the chicken" is while it's still warm. We use the leftovers for several recipes the next day; our current favorite is the Turkey Philly Sandwiches, only with chicken. We had them tonight and they were YUMMY.

Steamed Broccoli:
One to two heads of broccoli; make sure there are no brown or yellow spots
Salt
Water to go in the steamer pot

Rinse the broccoli and trim it into roughly bite sized pieces, discarding any brown or yellow bits if there are any. (I just read an article that says you should plunge broccoli into a bowl of water and swish it around then rinse it to get it clean, just FYI. I only rinse it.) Meanwhile bring water to boil in a steamer pot, making sure the water level is below the floor of the basket when it's in place. Put the broccoli in the steamer basket and salt well. Steam with the lid on for 5 to 7 minutes, depending on how full the steamer basket is and how large the broccoli pieces are. Check at the end of 5 and a half minutes to see how done it is by grabbing a piece with tongs, running it under cold water, and tasting. I like mine soft; you may like it more al dente. Cook further according to your preference. When it's done the way you like it, get it off the heat and out of the steamer immediately or it will get mushy on you.

My kids LOVE broccoli this way; I don't use any cheese sauce or butter or anything and they eat it up. The comparison to "little trees" doesn't hurt!