what to do with a whole chicken

I've learned a lot about cooking since Ryan and I got married. I'm amazed at the things that intimidated me when we were first married. I was a nervous wreck the first time I bought a can of kidney beans and a can of tomatoes so that I could make this taco bean soup recipe that I thought sounded good. I had never bought those before, so for some reason it was scary. (Now I stock up every time tomatoes go on sale, and I freeze big batches of beans [cooked from scratch] in the freezer so I can make quick bean dishes a couple of times a week--I've come a long way.) I'm a lot more confident about my cooking skills now, and I'm not scared to try most recipes anymore.

Anyway, one thing that I have learned to do is to cook large quantities of meat in the crockpot (like roasts or whole chickens) and then use it for several meals. For some reason that used to be soooo intimidating to me, but it's actually pretty easy after you've done it a couple of times. My chickens aren't works of art like some people's are, but they still taste good and the meat is nice and tender.

1. Thaw out the meat if it is frozen (in the fridge--it takes a day or two).
2. Take it out of the packaging, rinse it, and put it in the crockpot. You can add a little water, but you will get a lot of liquid just from the meat cooking.
   
3. Add spices if you want. Bouillon, garlic, onions, salt, pepper, and special seasonings like Prime Rib Rub all work well. You can also add vegetables like carrots and potatoes, which adds flavor and also makes this a really nice meal if you throw in salad and bread (meaning as part of the meal--I wouldn't advise putting lettuce in the crockpot . . . (-; ).
   
4. Cover the crockpot and let the meat cook for several hours. I use a thermometer to check if it is done.

In other words, put a hunk of meat in the crockpot and cook it for a while. How hard is that? I don't know why it was so scary. I think I thought that since whole chickens and roasts were nice meals, they must involve some complicated, fancy stuff.

After the meat is cooked, you can use the broth and meat for lots of things. I let it all cool down a bit, and then I take all the meat off of the bones and put it in a container in the fridge. Over the next few days I can use that meat for soup, sandwiches, enchiladas, chimichangas, stir-fries, etc. Then I drain the liquid (this is the stock or broth). A colander works fine, but if you don't want the floating fat and such you can use an old pair of nylons to make the broth nice and clear (I keep a pair in the kitchen and just cut off and throw away the part that got dirty). If you put the broth in the fridge overnight, it will become like chicken/beef jello and the fat will float to the top, so you can easily scrape the fat off with a spoon. Then you can use the broth for soup or stir-fry or any recipe that calls for broth.

A word about bouillon and broth: they are the same thing!
1 bouillon cube + 1 cup water=1 tsp. bouillon + 1 cup water =1 cup stock or broth
When I realized that, my world of cooking grew by leaps and bounds. Maybe everyone else knew that, but somehow I missed that helpful bit of information. I think I figured it out by reading the family cookbook. Now I can make really delicious soups and lots of other things. Chicken soup is just several cups of chicken broth with vegetables, chicken, barley, noodles, spices, or whatever you want to add. For some reason that used to be such a mystery to me.

Anyway, I hope I'm not the only one who was intimidated by cooking whole chickens and roasts. I still haven't tried making a roast or a whole chicken in the oven, though--I'm afraid it would be dry or burned, so I haven't dared to do it.