New Mom Survival - Crockpot Chicken Thighs!

Yesterday I explained how to very easily roast a whole chicken.  But what if you want something a little... saucier, with less raw-chicken-touching?  Easy!  Frozen chicken thighs are one of my best friends since having a baby.

It all started with this recipe, but as usual I didn't follow it very closely.  I didn't have any apricot preserves, so instead added about 1/4 cup of water and a handful of chopped dried apricots - turned out fabulous!!  Since then I've made a few variations (no soy sauce now that baby is soy-free), and have tried making up a few recipes of my own with varied success.  A few weeks ago I attempted thighs in homemade barbeque sauce, it worked out pretty well!  Tomato paste, garlic, molasses, and honey, mix up, add thighs, and cook for 8 hours!  I might add some vinegar next time, but i was pretty happy with it :)  Another time i added some curry powder and later mixed it with spinach, rice and coconut milk for a southeast-asian inspired soupy stew.  The great thing about chicken thighs is that they stay moist, and they're very adaptable.  And crockpot meals are forgiving, so if you don't measure very closely it's ok!

As a compliment to most of my chicken thigh meals, I plug in the rice cooker and make use of the steamer attachment for some carrot coins or green beans.  If you don't have a rice cooker, go ahead and add some carrots right into the crockpot with your chicken thighs, or stir in some baby spinach leaves last minute for an easy vegetable!

Back to blogging!

It's been a long hiatus, but I had an excellent excuse! Someone else required ALL of my attention for the fast few months, someone very demanding. And adorable. And complicated!

My excuse for not blogging

In addition to my own dietary struggles (colitis related - low fiber, gluten free, avoiding peanuts), I now have baby's dietary requirements... Which for the time being include presumed (hopefully temporary) allergies to dairy, soy, and eggs. What a challenge!! There was a 2 week period where I ate nothing but Home-roasted chicken and rice. And bananas - I had bananas and rice for breakfast. I lost a lot of weight... Look at the bright side, right? I've expanded my dietary horizons since then, cooking dinner many nights and even getting back into the world of grown ups - vacuuming occasionally, thinking about gardening, crocheting, reading, et cetera. Exciting things!

But to pay tribute to the food I survived on through the roughest time, here are some incredibly easy tips for making the most of chicken in your crockpot! So easy a mother of a newborn can do it!

Equipment:

• Big crockpot
• Small whole chicken (to fit in crockpot, sometimes called fryer chickens)
• Salt and pepper
• Couple of carrots
• Couple stalks of celery
• Optional: herbs, lemon, ginger, onion, garlic, etc.

Instructions for roasted chicken:

1. Thaw chicken if frozen.
2. Wash carrots and celery. Place in bottom of crockpot.
3. Rinse chicken inside and out and remove any innards. Optional: remove skin.
4. Season chicken inside and out with salt and pepper. If using any optional ingredients, stuff into body cavity or rub on now. I like to put a couple chunks of ginger and a lemon (poked with a fork) inside, and sprinkle lemon zest outside.
5. Place chicken on top of carrots and celery (to lift chicken up off bottom slightly).
6. Cover with crockpot lid and cook for 8-10 hours on low. No liquid needed!
7. Meat should be easy to remove with a fork and knife, no need for creepy picking of the chicken carcass.

Instructions for chicken stock:

1. Leave chicken carcass, vegetables, and drippings in crockpot. Remove anything too gross for your tastes, like a blob of fatty skin. And it's probably a good idea to remove any lemons, since lemon rind can be bitter.
2. Add any additional flavorings you like, such as fresh herbs or an onion (quartered).
3. Fill crockpot with cool water, cover, and cook 8-10 hours on low or overnight.
4. Ladle stock through a strainer and voila!

I like to roughly chop some chicken, carrots, celery and/or fennel and make some chicken soup with the broth! Throw in a bay leaf and some rice and you've got an easy homemade healthy meal! (tip - add a little sweet Italian sausage for a change of flavor!)