Dinner on a Dime: Cider Glazed Chicken and Spicy Brown Sugar Carrots!

Tonight's dinner on a dime was finger kicking good! I'm serious....I liked my fingers it was so delicious. And it only cost us $5!!!!

The recipe we used is actually ,east for a thanksgiving turkey, but we had a chicken so used it instead, and it turned out great! You can get the original recipes HERE and HERE.

It was like our own mini Thanksgiving dinner. I was worried that Jonathan wouldn't like it since he doesn't like apple cider, but he loved it! And of course we had a ton leftover so we will definitely get a second meal out of this!

For the chicken:
Apple cider
Whole chicken
Thyme
Savory seasoning
Poultry seasoning
Rosemary
Brown sugar
Salt & pepper
Canola oil
Ice
Water
(I just sprinkled the seasonings on until I thought it was good enough, didn't use measurements)

What to do:
Brine:

In a large pot with a lid that is big enough to fit the chicken, add all but 2 cups apple cider and bring to a boil over medium heat. Add the salt, thyme, rosemary, and Savory and stir to dissolve the salt. Remove from the heat, add 5 cups of ice, 6 cups water and stir. Put the turkey in the pot with the brine and hold it down so that the cavity fills with the brine. If the chicken is not completely submerged in the brine, add another 2 to 3 cups of water to the pot until covered. Cover the pot with a lid and refrigerate overnight or up to 24 hours.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Remove the chicken from the brine, rinse and pat dry. Arrange it, breast side up, in a roasting pan.

In a small bowl combine the canola oil, poultry seasoning and pepper. Brush the turkey liberally until completely coated. Put in the oven and roast until cooked (about 20 min per pound). About 10 minutes before the chicken is done, liberally baste the bird with the cider glaze.

Glaze:

In a small saucepan combine the reserved 2 cups of apple cider and 1/4 cup of brown sugar. Simmer until reduced to about 1/2 cup.

Now for the carrots:

2 pounds carrots, peeled and cut on the bias into 2 1/2-inch pieces (I used baby carrots)
1/4 cup apple cider
1/4 cup light brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1/4 teaspoon chili powder
2 tablespoons butter
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

What to do:

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over medium heat and add the carrots. Cook for 2 minutes, then drain in a colander and set aside.

In a medium-size pot combine all the remaining ingredients, except the parsley, and bring to a simmer over low heat. Add the drained carrots and toss to combine. Simmer on low heat for 5 minutes to incorporate flavors.

My Cost:
Apple Cider: $4
Carrots: $1

Total cost for this meal: $5!!!!

(Someone gave us the chicken, so we didn't have to buy one)