Chicken

This summer I was encouraged to try cooking a whole chicken in the crockpot and then using the bones for broth. Not only is it extremely nutritious, it is also frugal. Since then, I have done it three times and am amazed by the results each time! I was intimidated at first, but once I decided to give it a try, I realized I had nothing to be scared of. Seriously, SO easy!

Here is what you do:

1. Get a chicken.

2. Rinse your chicken and put it in the crock-pot.







3. Put the lid on, turn the crock-pot on low, set the timer for  8-10 hours and walk away (or go to bed, like I did!).

4. Turn the crock-pot off and let the chicken cool (if you are wanting to eat the chicken for dinner, put it in the crock-pot in the morning instead of overnight).
                                                  

5. Now, I hate to waste food, so at this point I take the skin off
of the chicken and put it in a frying pan. I cook the skin according to these directions and put the fat in a glass jar in my fridge. I cook our eggs, veggies and various other foods in it. I would only recommend doing this if you buy pastured chickens.

6. Take the meat off the bones. I freeze ours and use it in various soups and casseroles. From this 5 lb. chicken, I will probably be able to get meat for 5-6 meals, not counting the leftovers from those meals.

7. Put the bones back in the crock-pot and cover with 5-6 cups of water. Cook on low for 24 hours. I was able to get a gallon of broth from these bones.




And that is all there is to it! Check out these resources for reasons why homemade broth is so good for you: here and here.