Here is another of my recipes from the book that I created some time ago. It is a really simple recipe and who does not like Bacon.
Ingredients
1 3lb to 5lb whole Chicken
1/2 lb bacon, chopped plus 4 additions strips
3 tomatoes diced and seeded
2 cups chopped potatoes
2 large red peppers, cut into rings and seeded
2 onions sliced
2 onions quartered
1/3 cup pimentos
1/4 cup fresh Italian Parsley, chopped and stems removed
4 to 6 cloves of garlic, minced
2 to 5 whole garlic with the tops cut off
3 tablespoons olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste.
Directions
Pre Heat Oven to 375 degrees
Prep the chicken, place quartered onions, and one of the whole garlic heads into the cavity of the chicken. Next with twine tie up the chicken to keep the onions and garlic instead.
In a large deep oven-safe skillet that can be covered or a Dutch Oven, add bacon over medium-high heat and render off the fat. Remove bacon once crispy and set aside.
Next add chicken to skillet with bacon fat and brown on each side, about 15 minutes or so. Remove chicken and set aside. Drain off some of the bacon greases, leave about a tablespoon in the pan. Add olive oil followed by the onions, peppers, garlic, and pimentos and saute until soft, about 10 minutes.
Reduce heat to medium and add the tomatoes to the skillet and saute for an additional 10 minutes.
Drizzle olive oil on whole garlic.
Remove from heat and add the chicken back to the skillet, weave the 4 strips of bacon and place on top of the chicken, next place whole garlic in the skillet (I place two garlic, one in each of the leg area against the chicken) then place skillet in oven and cook for about 30 minutes, covered, remove and add potatoes and return to oven, uncovered for about another 30 to 45 minutes or until chicken is crispy and done and has a core temp of 165 degrees.
Remove from heat, remove chicken from skillet and tent with foil for 10 to 15 minutes. Cover the skillet to keep all the good warm. Next cut up chicken, transfer to a serving bowl with all the remaining goodness from the skillet and garnish with the parsley, crispy bacon, and serve.
Note: both the bacon can be salty so additional salt might not be needed. Also, the chicken may get a bit charred, we like the dark crispy bits but you can add foil to areas to keep them from charring.