Baked Chicken and gravy

This is one of the first things I learned to cook! and it is SUPER easy!!

Chicken Prep Time: 2 mins
Bake Time; 2 hours and up depending on size of chicken :)

Directions for Chicken:
Place Chicken in large enough pan to fit.
Stuff a few tsp Thyme leaves inside chicken.
Melt a few Tbsp butter and pour over chicken. Sprinkle with sea salt and fresh ground pepper and Thyme leaves/ground Thyme, onion powder and garlic powder.
Bake uncovered for 30-40 mins at 400 degrees until brown. Cover well and bake at 350 for another 1 1/2 to 2 hours depending on size of chicken. If still frozen (mine usually is! lol) You will need an additional hour and half to 2 hours bake time at 350.

Directions for Gravy:
Remove chicken from pan, place pan on stove on high.
While the drippings are browning (make sure they dont burn)  Whisk flour and water in cup- I usually do about 1/2  cup water and 3 Tbsp whole wheat flour.
Add about a cup homemade chicken stock to pan when drippings are a dark brown. (Find recipe for chicken stock here.) 
Whisk all together very well, for a couple minutes, add salt to taste and voila! fabulous gravy :)

Tip: I use Tin foil to cover my chicken, then place the lid on it, just to be sure it's covered well and dosnt dry out. This is especially important if it's still frozen! When using Tin foil, make sure it caves down on the INSIDE of the pan, otherwise, the condensation will drip OUTSIDE of your pan, smoke up your house and dry out your chicken!!  Basically, you want the steam to hit the tin foil, drip down the tinfoil and land back in the pan. Hope this makes sense! :)

Tip: You can even throw it in the oven frozen if you forget to thaw, just add an extra hour, or hour and half to your cooking time!

Tip: Whatever you cook WITH the chicken will soak up some of the flavor for your gravy! I NEVER cook anything with my chicken anymore for this reason :)

Tip: When I bake a chicken, I keep all the bones in a container in the freezer until I have chicken 2 more times. This gives me enough bones to fill a pot for homemade chicken stock and makes using the stove for 14 hours worth while! This also makes a stronger stock, which means more health benefits! And I seem to take that long to use up all the chicken stock from the last batch anyways! :)