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:
- Thaw chicken if frozen.
- Wash carrots and celery. Place in bottom of crockpot.
- Rinse chicken inside and out and remove any innards. Optional: remove skin.
- 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.
- Place chicken on top of carrots and celery (to lift chicken up off bottom slightly).
- Cover with crockpot lid and cook for 8-10 hours on low. No liquid needed!
- Meat should be easy to remove with a fork and knife, no need for creepy picking of the chicken carcass.
Instructions for chicken stock:
- 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.
- Add any additional flavorings you like, such as fresh herbs or an onion (quartered).
- Fill crockpot with cool water, cover, and cook 8-10 hours on low or overnight.
- 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!)
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