Bad Day Chicken

Today sucked.  No need to get into the specifics of it, it was just "one of those days".  I had planned to make a roast chicken with veggies, but I needed to kick it up a notch to counteract the horribleness of today.  So I brought out the bacon, and I brought out the booze, and I showed that chicken who's boss!

BACON & BEER ROASTED CHICKEN & VEGGIES
1 roasting chicken
whatever seasoning you like (I used some of Epicure's Turkey Rub and Maple Spice, and salt & pepper)
olive oil
4 bacon slices
3-4 carrots, thickly sliced
2 onions, chopped
1 beer

Place chicken in a roasting pan.  Rub with spices and drizzle with olive oil.  Lay bacon over the breasts and drumsticks, and then pour a little beer overtop.  Put in the oven at 400-450F for 25-30 minutes.  Add the the chopped vegetables and pour some more beer over them.  Cover and reduce heat to 350 F for 1 hour or until chicken is done (mine took about 1 h. 15 min.)  Make a gravy with the liquid in the bottom of the roaster by adding more beer and some flour to thicken it up.

BEER MASHED POTATOES
5-6 potatoes, scrubbed and chopped (leave the peels on)
1 bottle of beer
water
2 tbsp. butter
3-4 tbsp. whipping cream or milk
crumbled bacon slices

Add potatoes to a pot and pour beer over them.  Add enough water to cover the potatoes.  Bring to a boil and cook until potatoes are soft.  Drain liquid, add butter and whipping cream, and mash the potatoes.  Fold in the crumbled bacon.

This was scrumptious.  The kids were over the moon when they saw that there was bacon mashed into their potatoes.  I think the words, "You're the best mom ever!" came out of their mouths.  The chicken and veggies were super tender, and well, the potatoes, were fantastic.  Drizzling it all with beer gravy didn't hurt one bit either!