Judgment Free Crockpot Chicken

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What's that suppose to mean?

There's nothing worse in the kitchen than someone judging you for cooking in a crockpot!

"Slacker!"
"Lazy Bones!"
"Why can't you really cook?"

Well guess what? This food will be "as cooked" as slaved-over food... and the kitchen won't be 90°! In the south, you find ways to relieve the stresses of heat on your home. Especially when you are living in an RV. @beardo and I sold our lovely Texas home last year and opted to buy an RV to house our family... while we prayed about where we should go and where we should be. @beardo has started a blog about RV living that will both be entertaining and educational about our adventures this past year.

We are not in our RV right now... here are a couple of reason why.

1. The AC unit leaked when it rained. We took it in for repairs, but it didn't fix the issue. So we returned it again for a replacement unit. It had gotten bad enough that the ceiling was bubbling in areas.
2. My Dad had several episodes with his heart... he was a 2 time open heart surgery veteran and they found an aortic aneurysm. They fixed it but then he ended up needing a pacemaker. Trust me, that's the ultra-condensed version. So we are staying with him for visiting purposes, with the agenda of keeping a close eye on his rambunctious self.
3. My husband also lost his job just before #1 & # 2 Happened. So he/we are looking for jobs in other areas.
4. Hurricane Harvey. That grand jewel alone has kept us from returning to our little mobile paradise.

Ok so back to crock pot cooking... just do it!!! It makes life more doable during busy times, and it is just as rewarding in the end. And if there's left overs, you end up creating TWO meals in a fraction of the time.

I like to rinse the chicken off... some say "don't" because you leave splashes of bacteria. But I guess they don't clean my kitchen, do they?

Put 2-3 cups water in your crock pot and turn it on high to begin heating it up.

Some brands of chicken include the neck, liver, heart... inside the cavity of the chicken. Just check before you put it in the crock pot.

I personally do not cook it... I don't like having to fish it out of the stock.

I put it in a baggie and throw it away. The neck bones are super tiny. I'm sure there's nutrition there... but sometimes EASY is better. No one I know will eat the liver, so out it goes with the neck.

Once it's rinsed and the 911 cavity check has been done, you can place it into the water in the crock pot.

I like carrots, but my non-veggie eating kids don't. So instead of wasting, I only put two carrots into the crock pot for flavor. Cleaning them with a steel pad instead of using a peeler is a great way to clean carrots.

You can tell which one was cleaned with the steel pad here:

I use 1/2 a half bunch of celery. Yes, use the leaves... they cook beautifully.

One onion. Chop half, quarter the other half. The smaller pieces of onion help to deliver flavor where no man will venture.

Garlic. Mmmmm. Lovely garlic. If your garlic isn't of the super huge alien garlic size from outer space like this clove is, use 2 or 3 smaller cloves of garlic. Just peel and chunk them up.

Before you place all of your chopped goodies on top of the chicken, I like to season the chicken a bit.
I use garlic powder. (Mmmm garlic)
an Italian blend,
Lemon Pepper,
And Salt.

I have never measured... just sprinkle like a pro. You can do it. It's quite liberating!

Feel free to shake what ever fancies your flavor... because it will be your favorite!

Place all your chopped goodies into the crock pot and sprinkle the top with a little Himalayan Salt (or a good glass/sand free salt like Redmond's Real Salt). The salt will start breaking down the veggies and season them as they cook.

Close the lid and set it on high 4-6 hours. It could be done well before 6 hours... but I like to cook it until it falls apart.

I carefully use a fork to remove the skin and begin to take out the meat... if you're careful, you won't disturb the bones and they're easy to remove.

When you have the majority of the meat out, place a large bowl in the sink and strain the liquid into the bowl using a strainer.

You can the get the veggies out and serve with the chicken.

Place the chicken stock back into the crockpot along with 3-4 of the largest bones from the chicken. Add 1 tablespoon of Apple Cider Vinegar. This will draw the nutrients out of the bones and makes an excellent chicken bone broth. You can simmer this liquid in your crock pot on low for another 24 hours. It can be stored in the fridge for up to 2 weeks or frozen for later use. It's great for chicken noodle soup, or anything that calls for "stock" or Broth. It's amazing for healing gut issues, too.

Tonight we just ate the white meat with a side of Mac & Cheese, garlic bread slices, and sliced tomatoes from the garden.

Tomorrow we will use the leftover chicken to make chicken enchiladas.

Sometimes we use the chicken for chicken salad sandwiches.

No judgment here... it is tasty and saved me lots of time.

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What are some ways you would fix crock pot chicken?

Until the Next kitchen adventure,

@jeejee