I'm going to be honest with you. Even with two children at home, I thought I would have more free time for myself. I know you moms of two or more children are laughing at me. Free time? Coordinating naps? Good sleep? Yeah. So thanks for sticking with me as I write blog posts in five-minute snippets.

I've got a great one-pot-wonder meal to share with you that cooks effortlessly in the oven and requires no special instructions, complicated ingredients, or constant stirring. This meal is easy, yummy, and feeds everyone in our family, including opinionated toddlers.

I've adapted it from a recipe found in Danielle Walker's Meals Made Simple, which is my go-to recipe book for 2-3 nights a week. (Well it was my go-to. We're still getting some yummy meals delivered from friends and then just eating leftovers and scraps from the pantry currently. . .)

Ingredients:

Whole chicken for roasting (I prefer an organic, free-range)
3-4 carrots, peeled and sliced into 2-inch pieces
1 lemon, thinly sliced
1 onion, thinly sliced
3 cloves of garlic, peeled
3 Tb coconut oil or ghee
3 tsp course sea salt
1 tsp pepper
1 tsp dried thyme

Steps:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
Rinse the chicken and pat dry with paper towel. Place in roasting pan.
Stuff lemon, onion, and garlic inside chicken.
Melt coconut oil/ghee and pour over chicken.
Season outside of chicken with salt, pepper, and thyme.
Cook for 35 minutes, add carrots and reduce heat to 400 degrees. Cook for an additional 30 minutes, or until chicken juices run clear.

Voila! I promise you will feel like a grown-up with your fancy chicken and won't spend all day in the kitchen. We often add rice, fruit, or salad as an additional side. If you have some extra time, you could whip up this delicious pumpkin beer bread recipe from my dear friend Kristen.

A few tips to make things extra yummy (and easy):

Substitute baby carrots if you want to avoid peeling and cutting.
Leave the lid OFF the pan to make sure the skin gets browned and crunchy.
Slice the chicken to serve and then pour the broth from the pan over it for added flavor.

Enjoy!

*affiliate links included

We all got some extra slumber last night, and I thought it would be a great day to introduce you to the newest little pumpkin' around our house, Miss Norah. Norah arrived last week, and our daily routine has included the usual newborn nightly wake-up calls, frequent snuggles, endless diapers, and dreams of sleeping in until 11am. We've had family helping us around the house and sweet neighbors bringing food.

My husband and I aren't winning any awards for productivity, but we are figuring out a peaceful routine for our new family. We are definitely making use of our phrases to remind our oldest that boundaries are still consistent even with the new addition. We are also handing out extra grace, kindness, and hugs because change is hard, especially when you are two.

A sweet friend mentioned that the early days with two are chaotic, but enjoyable chaos none-the-less. We are savoring these first few days as a family of four, watching Evie snuggle baby sister, entertain her with the latest Santana tunes on the guitar, and occasionally man-handle Norah's face. It's definitely more chaotic then our life as a family of three but more joyful as well, and we are full of gratitude and awe that God shares His treasures with us.

I'll be featuring one of our family favorite meals in my next blog post. Labor intensive cooking and clean-up is pretty low on the priority list these days, so my recipes need to be yummy and easy to prepare.

I would love to hear about your favorite (easy) recipes!