Crockpot Chicken and Vegetables

I am going to upfront today and say that I am not 100%. I have spent the last few days caring for two little ones with many nights sitting up rocking and loving on and snuggling. My little ones were so kind to wear me out and to bring me down. I have spent the last couple days with a terrible headache and an extremely upset stomach. Thankfully, this is the first time in awhile that my body has shut down like this and I owe that to Chiropractic care, thanks babe, and the way we live our lives! (More to come!)

Do not worry -- I did not spend my sick day cooking in the kitchen. Here is a recipe that I made on Sunday! :) 

I love cooking whole chickens or chicken fryers in the crockpot! It is simple and you are left with a crockpot full of wonderful broth. 

The Chicken -
1 Chicken Fryer
enough water to cover the chicken
spices, whatever you fancy!

Cook the chicken in the crockpot all day on low. 5 - 10 minutes before you are ready for dinner pull the chicken out and let cool. Take off the skin and debone the chicken.

Was that hard!?!? :)

As for the vegetables
I roasted Brussels, again!!! :) My boys and I just can't get enough!

The other mixture is zucchini and broccoli. Saute in very little coconut oil and coconut aminos* (my new FAVORITE!!!) Start with the broccoli. Saute for 5 minutes then add the zucchini and then add the coconut aminos.

* I have been asked about Coconut Aminos. They can be found at Whole Foods or online. Coconut Aminos is a soy sauce or braggs replacement. Soy free, Gluten Free and Dairy Free!!! You will love it!

Chicken in the Crock, 4+ meals worth

A chicken fryer goes a lot further these days. I used to used plop a chicken in a pot and make soup. I would use the whole chicken and toss the bones. I also would bake a chicken and do the same thing, toss the bones. 


Not anymore!


A chicken fryer is becoming more... For example, I stretched our last two chicken fryers (whole chickens) into 4 meals and 4 jars of broth.

Just last night we had almost 1/2 if not 3/4 of the chicken left. We are consuming more vegetables (2 or 3 different types) each meal. 


Do not worry, if the boys want seconds of chicken, I will not discourage it but I will encourage more vegetables first! 


The left over chicken (1/2 - 3/4 of a chicken) is used towards lunches and other dinners this week. Plus one less dishes to have to clean. While cleaning up, I dished out enough chicken and leftover vegetables for his lunch. I used 1/4 cup of chicken today on my spinach salad with almonds and walnuts.  


Would you believe me if I told you, I still have a cup (maybe more) of chicken left? Well, believe me! :)


I have a new favorite chicken recipe. 


It is easy and you do not have to do much. I put a clean and patted down chicken into the crock pot. Topped with a little garlic powder, Italian Seasoning and Coconut Oil. Cook on low all day and you have perfect tender chicken.  

Crockpot Chicken

The Ingredients:

1 chicken fryer 

1 TBSP Coconut Oil

Garlic Powder

Fresh or Dried Herbs (Thyme, Rosemary, Oregano)

Lemon Pepper

Lemon Slices (optional)

The Directions:

Wash the chicken and pat dry. Put chicken in the crockpot and top with all the seasonings. 

Cook on low all day. Turn off the crockpot and take out chicken. Let cool before taking out the bones. 

Tip - take out all the bones while the chicken is warm. It falls apart and doesn't take much work to clean out all the meat. 

I also was able to make 4 large jars of homemade chicken broth. 

 

Chicken Broth - This time I cooked the bones with the extra juices leftover from when cooking the chicken. Add water and bones to crockpot, that's right, I said crockpot. I changed up the original recipe. 

This is so easy! I added everything in the crockpot and cooked everything over night.  

We sided the chicken with sauteed Brussels sprouts and steamed broccoli. 


Saute Brussels:


Cut Brussels into quarters. Add a little Olive Oil and Balsamic Vinegar. Little goes a long way. 


Steam Broccoli:


Steam broccoli until the color comes out. About 8 - 10 minutes. Seasoning lightly with pepper and garlic powder.

Vegetable Stock

Another mans trash is another mans treasure!!!!

I love making fresh stock!

In order to not feel like I am wasting good quality vegetables just to make a stock - I SAVE VEGETABLES! In a freezer bag I place peels and ends of vegetables that I would normally throw away. I store my collection in the freezer until it is time to use them!

This time I had orange bell pepper tops, cutting celery, onion and garlic ends and peels, carrot peels and sweet and regular potato peels.

In a large soup pot add water and a little sea salt. Once the water is boiling add the vegetable ends and let boil for 5 minutes. I let the vegetables seep - just like making tea!

Store the vegetable broth in Mason jars or even freeze extra. Season the broth to your liking!

Chicken Broth

Ingredients:

1 whole pastured chicken or 2-3 pounds chicken bones with or without bits of meat, including feet if you have them

4 quarts cold water

2 T vinegar

1 large onion, coarsely chopped (or your bag of collected frozen onion parts)

2 carrots coarsely chopped (I omit this sometimes)

3 celery sticks, coarsely chopped (I omit this if I don’t have celery)

The Directions:

Throw all of your chicken parts in a pot, add the water, vinegar and vegetables. Let sit for a half hour, then bring to a boil and remove the scum/foam that rises to the top. No need to remove the floating fat. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 6 to 24 hours. The longer you cook the stock, the more rich and flavorful it will be.

If you used a whole chicken, don’t leave the meat in there for more than about 3-4 hours. Remove the chicken, remove the meat and reserve, and put the bones back in the broth to cook.

Remove the whole chicken pieces with a slotted spoon. Strain the stock into a large bowl, then ladle into mason jars. Let the jars sit until they are pretty cool, then freeze or refrigerate.

If you want to defat: put the mason jars (or the large bowl) into the fridge until they’re completely cool then break off the fat. Freeze the fat for use in gravies.