So I have a son with Asperger's. If you are familiar with the disorder then you will understand what it's like to have a child walk around ALL day saying the same phrase over and over and...over. If you don't know what it is, google it. It's interesting. Needless to say, my son used to walk around saying "chicken nugget" and my best friend Kathy's son used to walk around saying "chicken and a chainsaw". While this seems pretty innocuous, it's incredibly annoying after hours of it.
But, never fear, this post has nothing to do with anything other than chicken. (I cannot vouch for how the chicken was killed however).
Chicken in a Crock pot (my recipe hack)
1-Whole chicken (giblets or whatever is in that bag removed, rinsed and patted dry)
3-whole carrots cut up in 1 inch increments
5-potatoes, whole, washed and unpeeled (I used white potatoes, I think)
1-Onion, quartered and then sections pulled apart
1 tbs.- crushed garlic (not fresh, the kind you find in a jar, only because I don't have a garlic crusher and partly because I am a lazy cook)
Salt
Pepper
a few pats of butter
Onion soup mix (used Lipton)
1 cup-hot water
2 Cups Rice
Okay, so here's what I did. First I sprayed my crock pot with Pam with Olive Oil. I refuse to use liners and when the Pam stash runs out from my adventures in couponing, I will probably buy on of those "make-your-own" oil spray things. I then put the carrots on the bottom with a few onion sections and the chicken on top of that. I sprinkled the chicken with a little salt and a little pepper then put a few pats of butter on top. Then I placed the potatoes on top of the chicken and put the garlic in the cavity. Then I mixed the onion soup with the hot water and poured it next to the chicken. In hindsight, I should have poured the soup mix in with the carrots then put the garlic in the chicken cavity then chicken on top. You know what they say about hindsight, right? Finally turn the crock pot on high for one hour then low for 8-10 hours or on high for 4-6 hrs. My chicken had the nice little pop-up timer, which I did not notice until it popped up. It said it was done at about 4 1/2 hrs (or at least that is when I noticed it had popped up) but I never trust that thing. Anyway, I let it cook about 5 hrs total and it pegged my kitchen thermometer so it quite possibly may have been done earlier when the pop-up thingy said so.
I planned to serve it with Sweet Hawaiian bread but alas, I forgot to get it so we are eating it with rice. We love rice here. Who doesn't? We use the medium grain rice that is bad for you. It's sticky, yummy, and oh, cheap! Did I mention I was cheap?
So, the verdict? It smelled amazing all day. Let me emphasize that, AMAZING! I pulled the potatoes out first, mostly because I had to to get to the chicken, then sucked out all the juices around it with my baster. That I made into gravy but I forgot to measure so it was more clear than opaque. When I went to pull the chicken out using two wooden spoons, the legs and wings fell right off. Good sign, right? As I was putting it on the plate, a whole breast section fell off. Nothing like a self-carving chicken! I thought everything was pretty good, except the carrots. I think baby carrots might be better or cutting them smaller. It also could have used a touch of salt but because my husband and I differ in our opinions of how much salt is too much, I err on the side of less then I add more to my plate. All my boys ate it. My 7 year old did comment the chicken tasted like potato though. So, if you don't like a "potato" taste, maybe put them on bottom. They were super tender though. Overall, it was a mighty tasty former clucker.
Some side notes to consider: I am not a chef or a cook but rather I have to cook for my family or they will eat junk, I think you could add any concoction of seasonings you like to this and it will turn out well, the skin does not brown well but if you could get it out in one piece versus the eight mine came out in, you could possibly broil the skin to golden perfection, and don't let your 14 year old cook the gravy because he/she may let it boil over on the stove, leave the burner on with the gravy on it and create a wonderful, blackened, smokey mess. All I can say is thank-goodness for glass top stoves.
So, I thought I would tell you what my meal cost. Since I am a couponer, my prices may differ from yours. Here we go:
Chicken:$5.33 (on sale for $.89/lb which is not my stock-up price but wanted an easy dinner)
Potatoes: $.66 ($1.99/5 lb bag, of which I used about 1/3)
Soup mix: $.25 (hit a sale with coupons, paid $.50 for the 2ct box)
Carrots:Free (had a coupon from recyclebank)
Onion: $.20 ($1.99/3lb bag, about 10 in a bag)
Spices/Garlic: $.25 (I mean really, who knows but I think that is fair)
Water: Free (we have a well and thank goodness because our boys take FOREVER in the shower)
Butter: $.19 (got it for 1.99/lb, divided by 32 tbs)
Rice: $.50 (I use medium grain rice and buy it in the 20lb bag for about $10 at my local commissary)
Total: $7.38 for 5 of us.
That's about $1.48 per person. Try that at McDonald's!
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