Sunday afternoons and evenings have slowly become my favorite time of the week. Which is shocking, because I used to experience them with a buzz of anxiety and overwhelm. 

What once filled my chest with Sunday Scaries is now a rhythm so familiar and comforting I look forward to it each week.

I’m a firm believer we don’t have to live scared or stressed under the weight of what’s to come. Every day—and even moment—is available to turn into a sparkling, dazzling dash of fun. This is our one life, and we get to live it! To the full! Abundantly!

So now, our Sundays include a full roasted chicken. This ritual brings us dinner, tons of leftover chicken, and a batch of fresh bone broth.

I’ve slightly adapted Ina Garten’s roasted chicken recipe (did I just say that?! How audacious and confident of me!) with less steps, less touching raw chicken, and more garlic. 

Here’s what I do, what we love, and what I’ve learned along the way. 

Cooking the Chicken

— I typically get a 3-5 pound organic whole chicken from Sprouts or Central Market. 

— I peel and cut up about 2 pounds of carrots and throw them in the base of my Staub roasting pan, along with a coarsely chopped onion and halved head of garlic. Important note: all of the scraps go into a separate bowl for the bone broth. Nothing goes in the trash. We are being resourceful here!

— I coat everything generously with olive oil, salt, and pepper. This is a lot of veggies, so the more seasoning, the better.

— This pepper mill has made this feel so much more fabulous and fun—a little luxury I mentioned here. These details make ordinary moments more fun (and would be a great gift for a friend who loves cooking)!

— I stuff the chicken with a halved lemon and head of garlic before coating the top with olive oil, salt, and pepper.

— I bake the chicken for about 2 hours (+/- 15 minutes) at 375° F. Our oven isn’t great so it takes a bit longer, but yours could go faster, so just pay attention to how it’s doing at about 75 minutes in.

— This is the best part—while our juicy, flavorful, tender dinner is sizzling in the oven, I can then go workout, or work on my blog, or lay in bed to catch my breath without the nagging thought that I need to prep dinner.

— Our meat thermometer is clutch—it gives me confidence that I’m not giving us food poisoning and that the chicken is cooked through to 165° F in the center. 

— The chicken needs to rest for 20-30 minutes on a cutting board once it reaches temperature, so I pull the chicken out and return the veggies to the oven to get nice and tender in the garlic-y, pan drippings.

— At this point, while the chicken is resting, I put a pot of rice on the stove, and if I’m roasting any additional veggies, I will throw those in our toaster oven at this time.

— When the chicken is done resting, I cut the dark meat off the bone and put it on our plates for dinner, tossing the cleaned-off bones into the bowl of scraps for the bone broth. I’ll cut off more chicken now, too, to get it off the bones.

— Pulling the veggies out of the oven, we enjoy a Sunday din of roasted chicken, veggies, and fresh rice. It’s also easy to add sauce or gravy for an elevated feel (or if you’re serving this for guests). It’s always so rich and nourishing which feels incredible as we step into a new week. 

— After we eat, I go back to the chicken (it’s cooled by this point) and get every ounce of it off the bones that I can. Nothing goes to waste! I add it all to a glass container for leftovers and/or a soup I’ll make later in the week. Any and all bones (and the lemon and garlic) go into the bowl of scraps for the bone broth. 

How I Make Bone Broth

001. I pull out my Instant Pot and dump all the scraps from the veggies and bones in. 

002. I add a splash of Apple Cider Vinegar (this pulls out some of the nutrition apparently, and doesn’t change the flavor) and a handful of black peppercorns. This makes it taste so rich. 

Note: I don’t add salt at this stage because if I make soup or any other dish with the broth, I like to add the salt at that point. 

003. Filling the entire Instant Pot up with water, I set it to Slow Cook on High for 12 hours. I’ve tried a variety of cooking times and temperatures and have found this to be the best. 

Realistically, I’m not able to drain it right away when the timer beeps at 12 hours since I’m usually walking out the door for work by this point. So it sits on warm all day which just lets the flavors meld together even more. 

004. I come back to the pot after work (nearly 24 hours after it started cooking) and drain it through a fine mesh strainer before filling glass jars with the fresh broth. It tastes so good and makes any recipe seriously pop.

005. I throw everything I can into the dishwasher, and voila! All done. And I really feel like I get my money’s worth.

Financial Benefits

This is what we get from our roasted chicken:

— Sunday dinner
— Monday lunches
— Wednesday soup or other recipe
— 16 cups of bone broth

If we bought all of that separately at the store, this is about what it’d break down to:

— Sunday dinner + Monday lunch: $12
— Wednesday soup or other recipe: $12
— 16 cups of (high quality, no additives) bone broth: up to $45

Instead, we get one whole chicken for $18-24. Plus, I feel industrious and Ina Garten-esque along the way, so that’s fun, too. 

What Sunday rituals keep you feeling grounded, inspired, and on track? Comment below to add to the conversation!

xo AR

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Post Scripts

— From the Saturday Stressies to something sacred— 

— Other rituals to help you fall in love with your home—

— The Staub roasting pan I mentioned above was a generous wedding gift. Here are some of the other wedding gifts we love and use alllll the time—

— Need a new Sunday rhythm? Your reminder that you can start fresh at any moment.