Tip from Lori: Buy a whole chicken (on sale they can be pretty C-H-E-A-P!) and get out your crock pot.

Once you’ve cleaned the chicken, put it in your crock pot with the heat setting on low. Walk away for 6-7 hours (or until the meat falls off the bones). When you return, the chicken is ready to eat!

Yes, it’s THAT easy!

Here are a few variations you can try:
1. Add a small jar of your favorite salsa (either red or green). Follow the same instructions as above. This will give a perfect flavor for tacos, enchiladas, an arroz con pollo dish, etc.

2. For a simpler flavor: only add kosher salt, pepper and paprika (you don’t even need to add any water to the crock pot). Again, follow the same heat/time instructions as above.

And for the double-duty kitchen… make your own broth!
With the plain chicken: once you’ve removed the meat, add the skin/bones and 4-5 cups of water back to the crock pot. Keep the crock pot on low overnight. And in the morning strain out the skin/bones.

Divide the broth up into containers you can label for measurement. Once the broth has cooled, transfer it to the refrigerator for a few hours. Once the broth has completely cooled the fat will have hardened on top, and at this point is very easy to remove.

Please forgive me… I can’t seem to find any pictures on this. I guess I’ll have to do that at some point…

enjoy your time in the kitchen…