This Italian-style roasted chicken recipe is one of the few recipes that can be prepared with a meal budget of $20 for a family of four. Including all the necessary ingredients you’ll need for this tasty chicken meal, you’ll still be able to meet your budget! I also took advantage of the heated oven and roasted some vegetables: carrots sliced wide (1/2 inch), an onion, fennel (bulb), and two medium potatoes, with a drizzle of olive oil and a pinch of salt.

Italian-Style Roasted Chicken {Recipe}

Serves 4
Cooking time: 1 hour & 30 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 whole chicken (about 3 1/2 lbs)
• 2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 1 Tbsp oregano, crushed
• 1 Tbsp basil, crushed
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• ½ tsp salt
• 1 ½ tsp thyme, crushed
• ½ tsp rosemary
• ½ tsp ground black pepper
• 2 tsp butter

Note: You can substitute the oregano, basil, thyme, and rosemary with 2 tablespoons of Italian seasoning.

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 ° F.
2. Combine the vinegar, oil, lemon juice, oregano, basil, garlic, salt, thyme, rosemary, and pepper in a small bowl. Divide the herb mixture in half.
3. Rinse the inside of your chicken and pat dry. Slip your fingers between the skin and the breast meat, adding half of the herb mixture with a spoon into the pocket that forms to separate the meat from the skin.
4. Add butter in between the skin and breast meat as well.
5. Season remainder of chicken (including over the skin), with the remaining half of the herb mixture.
6. If you want, you can tie the legs of the chicken with a cord. (optional)
7. Marinate in the refrigerator for about 20 minutes.
8. Place chicken, breast side up, on a rack or pan and roast for 1 hour and 30 minutes in your preheated oven.
9. Remove chicken from oven. Cover with foil and let stand 10 minutes before carving.

Jeannette Quiñones-Cantore is the CEO and founder of Sazón Boricua. She started her blog from Puerto Rico in 2008 to share recipes, advice and tips for the home. She collaborates with Qué Rica Vida, has been selected as a Top Bloguera by LATISM 2012, and is also the founder of Red Bloguera de Puerto Rico. You can follow Jeanette on Facebook, Twitter, or via her blog Sazón Boricua.

Photo © Jeannette Quiñones-Cantore

Cooking dinner sometimes means you have to be a little creative. Though I often cook much of the Puerto Rican food I grew up eating, it’s not all I cook! I love cooking (and eating) pasta, as well – in all forms. One dish my family has come to love is an Asian-inspired noodle recipe, which you can cook with beef (our favorite), chicken, or pork. You could also make this a vegetarian dish and leave out the meat altogether!

This teriyaki beef & vegetable noodle recipe is easy to make, uses little ingredients, and best of all, cooks rather fast. You can easily cook this when you get home from work (or after a long day with the kids), and if you have pre-cut vegetables, it’ll take even less time! I’m sure you’ll be adding teriyaki beef & vegetable noodles to your dinner menu plan from now on!

Teriyaki Beef & Vegetable Noodles {Recipe}

Ingredients

• Salt
• Olive oil
• Thin-cut steak, cut into strips and seasoned to your liking (you can substitute with chicken, pork, or leave meat out for a vegetarian version)
• Linguine noodles, 1 16 oz. package
• Teriyaki sauce
• Soy sauce
• Broccoli, washed and cut into florets
• Carrots, washed and cut into strips (I like to buy baby carrots that are already peeled and cut them in quarters length-wise.)

Directions

1. Add water to a large pot, salt to your liking and bring to a boil.
2. Heat a medium pan to medium heat. You can use a pan such as these non-stick Rachael Ray skillets I reviewed.
3. Add olive oil, and swirl pan to coat the bottom.
4. Add pre-seasoned steak and let it brown, stirring occasionally.
5. When water in pot comes to a boil, add package of linguine noodles and cook per package directions.
6. As steak browns and is nearly cooked all the way, lower heat to low-medium.
7. Add teriyaki sauce and soy sauce to steak. You want to add enough to create a sauce that will blend with the noodles.
8. When noodles have about 3 minutes of cooking time left, add broccoli and carrots to pot with noodles.
9. Let broccoli and carrots cook with noodles until noodles are ready to drain.
10. Drain noodles, broccoli, and carrots and return to pot.
11. Add steak and sauce mixture to pot with noodles and vegetables.
12. Mix well and serve.

Enjoy your teriyaki beef & vegetable noodles and have fun with the recipe! You can switch out the meats, as I mentioned, and also trade out the vegetables for your family’s favorites. Let me know what you think if you make it!

This is a sponsored post.

***Be sure to scroll down for the awesome giveaway!***

I was recently approached by The Motherhood for an opportunity to get together with a few local bloggers as part of the “Fabulous Summer of Flavor” challenge and cook a meal together using Lawry’s products. Unfortunately, as is the life of busy moms and bloggers, we were unable to find a date that worked for all of us. So, we did the next best thing and had ourselves a virtual potluck. That’s the beauty of social media and blogging; we can get together without actually getting together!

Our challenge was to collectively create a meal that fit the theme of “On the Go” and included the following Lawry’s products: Seasoned Salt, Balsamic Herb Marinade, and Seasoned Salt Marinade. Our Orlando team came up with an appetizer, main entree, and side dish that take about 40 minutes to prepare; not bad for a healthy, easy, and fast meal! Plus, the entree requires only THREE ingredients! After you check out these super simple recipes, be sure to scroll down for the chance to win some Lawry’s products, so that you too can create this quick and easy dinner!

Appetizer: Crostini with white bean spread, arugula and prosciutto

by Leigh of ThemeParkMom.com and me! (ModernMami™.com)
(Makes 20-30 appetizers, depending on size of your baguette)
Prep time: 10 minutes or less

INGREDIENTS
1 baguette, sliced into 1/2-inch thick slices
1 can cannelini beans (or other white bean, such as Great Northern)
2 T. extra virgin olive oil
1/2 tsp. Lawry’s Seasoned Salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper
Baby arugula (about 1/2 cup)
Thinly-sliced prosciutto (about 1/4 pound)

1. Toast your bread slices on both sides. This can be done in an oven, or the Florida summer method, which doesn’t require heating up the oven: Heat a dry skillet over medium high heat. Add bread slices and toast for about 30 seconds per side. Watch closely so they don’t burn.
2.  Make the white bean spread. Drain the liquid from the can of beans. Add to a food processor and puree. Add olive oil, Lawry’s Seasoned Salt and pepper and process until well blended.
3. Assemble the crostini. Spread about 2 tsp. of the bean spread on each baguette. Top with 3-4 pieces of baby arugula and a small slice of the prosciutto.

Main Entree: Balsamic Pineapple Salmon

by Amanda of The Mamma Mia Blog and Angie of A Whole Lot of Nothing
Serves: 4
Prep time: 10 minutes, plus marinade time
Cook time: 30 minutes

INGREDIENTS
(4) 4 oz. salmon fillets
Lawry’s Balsamic Herb Marinade
2 cups pineapple chunks

1. Marinade salmon fillet with Lawry’s Balsamic Herb Marinade (no less than 30 minutes)
2. Place salmon in baking dish
3. Cover salmon with pineapples
4. Bake at 350 degrees for 1/2 hour or until salmon flakes
5. Remove from oven
6. Drizzle with Lawry’s Balsamic Herb Marinade

Side Dish: Sauteed Asparagus

by Jen of The Suburban Mom and Jessica of The Unemployed Mom
Prep & cook time: 7 minutes

INGREDIENTS
Olive Oil
Lemon
Asparagus
Lawry’s Seasoned Salt
Grated Parmesan Cheese

1. Heat olive oil in saute pan (after cleaning asparagus).
2. Place asparagus in pan and then squeeze lemon juice on top.
3. Top with lemon zest and a few dashes of Lawry’s Seasoned Salt.
4. Turn the asparagus while cooking until desired tenderness.
5. Remove from pan then sprinkle fresh parmesan cheese, lemon zest and Lawry’s Seasoned Salt on top prior to serving.

ModernMami™.com Reader Giveaway

Enter for your chance to win a package of the following Lawry’s products: 16 oz Seasoned Salt, Balsamic Herb Marinade, Seasoned Salt Marinade.

How to Enter

Required entry: If you’d like to enter this contest, simply leave a comment below telling us how Lawry’s products can help you create an on-the-go meal.

Extra entries (optional):

Each of the following will count as 1 extra entry. You’ll need to leave a separate comment for each entry.

1. Follow @modernmami on twitter.
2. Tweet the following: Enter to win #lawrys products for your on-the-go meal from @modernmami! http://bit.ly/lawrysdinner #foodie #giveaway #contest #recipes
3. Receive post updates by subscribing to our RSS feed. You can do so either via email or through a RSS reader. Leave a comment saying you did so or are already a subscriber.
4. Subscribe on friendfeed and leave a comment with your friendfeed ID.
5. Like ModernMami™.com on Facebook.
6. Write a blog post on your own blog sharing the details of this contest. Be sure to include a link back to this post. Leave a comment with your post link.

All entries must be in by Monday, August 22, 2011 at 11:59 pm EST. You must be 18 or older and have a valid U.S. address to enter. Remember to leave a separate comment for each entry. The winner will be chosen using Random.org and will be notified via email. (Please be sure to provide a valid email address with your entry.) Winner will have 48 hours to respond and claim prize, otherwise a new winner will be chosen.

Disclosure: I was compensated for participating in this challenge and working with Lawry’s and The Motherhood.

Photo credits: Amanda Keefer, Leigh Caldwell, and Jessica Kirby