Roasted chicken with cheese stuffed baked potatoes

This last Sunday, I made roasted chicken and baked potatoes simultaneously in the oven.
I also made steamed green beans on the side, but I did not bother taking pictures of that.  (if you don't know how to steam some green beans, you should be worried!).

I like roasted chicken because its pretty healthy and its not hard.  Its just time consuming!

The way I make roasted chicken is a 2-day process.
Day 1 is when I rub in all the salt and herbs into the meat under the skin.  Don't let anyone tell you that "dry rubs" should only be put on the meat right before cooking.  That is NOT true.
The salt softens the meat and keeps moisture in the meat.  Something about salt attracting water molecules... I don't know, I'm not a science major.  All I know is that this is not a kitchen myth, it's science.

So if you don't want your chicken breast dry, then rub on your salted dry rub the night before.


On Day 2, place your chicken on a roasting rack (breast side down, to catch the juices as it falls), and roast for 20 minutes at 450 degrees, then turn down the temperature to 340 degrees for an additional 40 minutes.  Then turn the chicken over to brown the breast side, and bake for another 30 minutes.

I also baked up several potatoes at the same time as the chicken,  when the oven was at 340 degrees.  I pricked the potatoes with a fork, rubbed on olive oil, kosher salt, and black pepper and baked in the oven for 1 hour and 15 minutes.

When the potatoes were done baking, I popped each one open and shoved a little pat of butter and reduced fat cheddar cheese .  Voila!  cheesy stuffed potatoes!