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crockpot

Food, Savory

Whole Chicken in a Crockpot

ChickenCrockpot

 

Turns out I can make more than Mac & Cheese and Chili in a crockpot. Andy and I were wandering around the supermarket trying to figure out what to make for dinner when we stumbled upon whole chickens for less than $5. So we bought it… and then I realized I had no idea how to cook it. You see, my grandmother had one of those Ronco rotisserie cookers. Remember those? You could skewer a whole chicken, turn the nob and a few hours later, you’d had a roasted, juicy chicken.

After we had lunch, my grandmother would always make me clean the chicken, pulling apart the meat from the bone for chicken salad the next day. Believe me, no chicken was ever wasted. I pride myself on being able to clean a chicken to the bone. Although to be fair, I might have snuck a few bites while cleaning the chicken. It was too tasty.

So I thought about those meals when I decided how we were going to make dinner. And while I don’t have a home rotisserie, I did have a crockpot.

Crockpot Whole Chicken

Gather
1 whole chicken, cleaned and insides removed
1 teaspoon of cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon of sea salt
1 teaspoon of onion powder
1/2 teaspoon thyme
1/2 teaspoon of garlic powder
1/2 onion, sliced into rings
2 slices of bacon

Place two slices of bacon and onion on bottom of crockpot. In a small bowl, mix spices. Rub the spice mixture all over the chicken. You can even put some of the mix in the chicken cavity and under the skin, although not required.

Place chicken in crockpot on top of bacon and onion. There is no need to add water. Cover and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours or until chicken is falling off the bone.

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Food, Savory

Crockpot Mac N Cheese

CrockpotMacAndCheese

There is something inadvertently sexy about a crockpot made meal. Perhaps it’s the slow cooking, maybe it’s how it just makes meats fall apart with the poke of a fork, or even maybe… it’s how easy it makes life. Like this recipe, which I made this recipe for the company Christmas party. It was such a big hit that there weren’t any seconds for anyone. And it took little to no effort. Don’t tell them that, they might make me cook all the time.

Next time I better make double the amount, though. I put it down on the table, turned around, and it was almost gone. Crazy delicious, but I think I also want to experiment with some various other ingredients, like bacon, veggies, or even different cheeses. Let’s get crazy!

Crockpot Mac N Cheese

Gather:
2 cups of cooked shell pasta
4 tablespoons of butter
2 1/2 cups of grated Pepper Jack cheese
3 eggs
1 cup of sour cream
1 can of condensed cheddar cheese soup
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1 cup of milk
1/2 teaspoon of black pepper
1/2 teaspoon of garlic powder

In a medium sauce pan, mix butter and cheese. Stir until melted.

In the slow cooker (a.k.a. crockpot), mix the cheese mixture, eggs, soup, sour cream, salt, milk, pepper, and garlic powder. Add the pasta and stir again.

Cook on low for 3 hours, stirring occasionally.

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