Friday, March 29, 2013

Crockpot Chicken & Weekend Plans


So, since the time change took effect, the morning sun has become quite the prankster around 10am. Right about this time it shines through one of the skylights at my office building onto my work station. Today, in acknowledgment of the nice spring day we’re supposed to have, I wore a low cut bright purple shirt. Now it’s like a sign from God is pointing right at my boobs. I regret my fashion choice. 

Anyway, it’s Friday! YAY! Happiest day of the week! I am personally thrilled about getting this weekend started for many a reason. #1, I have softball practice and it’s actually going to be decent outside! #2, I get my hair cut tomorrow! #3, Tomorrow is grocery shopping day! (I know, I’m weird) #4, Tomorrow I get to try a new red velvet cupcake recipe and send it with my hubbster to his game night! #5, Tomorrow is game night! That means Milo and I get mommy/baby time…something I look forward to all week long.  

Back when he was teeny & we had all the time in the world.

And I have an extra special project for Milo and mommy Sunday afternoon! Milo gets to help mommy make Easter cookies! Milo and I have tried cooking together before. Around Christmas he helped me make sugar cookies. He did pretty well, but he was still pretty fuzzy on following instructions. He has grown up so much since then that I think he’ll be able to actually help out with the stirring, rolling and cutting. Plus, he loves to cook with his little pots and pans…this should be a great experience for him. I even have a new cookie cutter in the shape of a bunny! He’ll love it. I will be sure to post pictures. 

This was about all the help I got at Christmas.
 Anyhoo...I'm not doing anything overly special for Easter this weekend. I don't have the $$ to go see my family in Des Moines :( and no one has the $$ to come see us unfortunately. So, it'll just be me, daddy and Milo hunting for eggs and cooking whatever the heck we want (pesto ravioli) on Sunday! And that's still pretty darn good. However, I was feeling a little "out of the holiday spirit" this week, so I decided I would cook something big and fancy-ish anyway. It wasn't a ham, but it was still really dang tasty! 

Yeah, baby.
That my friends is a whole fryer chicken, stuffed & thrown in a crockpot on a comfy bed of foil. Is that an orange piece you see in there? Why yes, yes it is. Normally what you'll see gracing the inside cavity of a fryer chicken would be lemon, but I was out. I think I ought to be applauded for not panicking of crying. Nope! Instead I grabbed an orange, thought to myself Why the hell not? and trudged forward bravely. I happened to have some fresh dill & thyme, so I threw that in there as well along with some liberal salt and pepper inside and out. 

Not exactly a beautiful shot, but hey, I did the work so someone besides me has to observe.


Now, I know that lots of people are afraid of cooking/handling/dressing a whole bird. To these folks I say: More for me

I can't for the life of me get this picture the right way up, but I didn't want you to miss it.


Not really. Though seriously, you need to suck it up. This is the easiest method you can find. No stuffing the chicken with a beer can and propping it up on some weird wire looking contraption. No checking internal temp every five seconds to make sure the sucker is done in the oven. No basting. NOTHING. Here are your instructions:

1) Unpack your chicken in the sink, check the interior for giblets (make gravy if you want or just throw them away) and rinse that puppy off well inside and out. Pat dry.

2) Lay your chicken breast side up on a cookie sheet with an edge to keep juices from going all over. Wash your hands, and go choose your stuffing. If you plan on eating the skin, douse it with your favorite spices. If not, pull the skin back a little on the breast and sprinkle some salt and pepper on the breast and inside the cavity for a little more flavor. Then stuff that puppy full! I recommend either a full lemon or orange and a few sprigs of your favorite spice. Then get under that breast skin again and stuff some orange slices and more spices in there. 

Packed as tight as it can get!




3) Get out your crockpot. Get out some foil. Now, create a foil "sling" for your chicken. Take two long sheets of foil and lay them on top of each other to create a double layer. Set your chicken right in the middle. Now, use half of an orange, lemon, onion, or a big ball of foil and place it right in the middle of your crock pot. This and the sling will keep your chicken from touching the bottom of your crock and burning. Easy! Now, take your sling filled with chicken to the crockpot and nestle it down in there. 



4) Fold the excess foil over the side of your crock pot. Crank your crockpot on to either high for 4 hours or low for 8 hours and let it go! Don't even think about it again until dinner! When it comes out, use the foil sling to get the bird to your carving surface because that puppy will be so tender it may loose some pieces if you try to lift it off the sling.

CONSUME!!!!!

Mmm...chicken & roasted veggies. Nothing better at the end of a long day.

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