A Chicken in Every Pot

A crock pot, that is. Making this slow cooker meal is incredibly simple, but the results are so good! It works great for a Sunday meal. You'll need a whole chicken - not the little fryer kind - the bigger ones are better. We get a 2-pack at Sams Club and freeze one for later. Just make sure the bird will fit in your slow cooker, with some room to spare for the veggies. This isn't really a recipe in the sense that you can add whatever you like. Por ejemplo, we don't love potatoes so much so I only add about 3 when I make this for just us. But I love carrots, so I put in at least 6 or so.

Supply List:

a whole chicken

potatoes, peeled if desired & cut into large wedges

carrots, peeled and cut into large pieces

onion and/or old apple scraps

anything else (maybe you like celery chunks, pearl onions... or turnips?)

poultry seasoning

sea salt & pepper

1 chicken bouillon cube*

1/2 cup chicken broth (or water & more bouillon)

Okay, here's how I do this:

1. Turn the crock pot on to high and add the chicken broth.

2. Put all those potato pieces in the crock pot next and crumble the bouillon cube over them. If your crock pot is oval shaped, or larger than your chicken, go ahead and put all the veggies in right now. Our slow cooker is not, so I save the carrots and any smaller veggies for step 4.

*If you are adding lots of veggies to serve more than 4, you may want to crumble 2 bouillon cubes over everything.

3. Take your chicken out of its plastic wrap and get ready to season it. I like to do this in the sink. It's easier to clean up all the nasty raw chicken stuff. If your chicken has giblets stuffed in the hole, get those out and toss them in the trash. Yuck. Stuff the empty cavity with onion wedges or even old apple wedges. Just so it's not empty. Now simply season the bird with the salt & pepper and that poultry seasoning. Season it heavily, especially with the poultry stuff. When it's ready, put it in the cooker, with the breast side on the top. That makes for easier cutting later.

4. Next it's time to stuff any remaining nooks and crannies with the rest of your veggies if your cooker is tight on space. If you have room to spare, let's move on.

5. Put the lid on and walk away for 3 hours. DO NOT TAKE THE LID OFF during the cooking. Just don't.

6. After about 3 hours on high (we've gone up to 4 hours with good results, if you can't make it back), turn the crock pot down to low. DO NOT TAKE THE LID OFF. Leave it on low for at least 3 more hours. 3 hours alone with get you wonderfully soft, succulent chicken that more or less holds its shape when you cut and serve it. If you leave it in for 4+ hours, the meat will fall apart much, much more. Which is fine, if you like that.

That's it. We like eating ours with some gravy on the table. Enjoy!