A Chicken in Every Pot

Ever have one of those days?

I'm a homeschooling Mom, which in some ways helps me cook and bake more easily--mix bread, teach grammar, punch down dough, answer math question, start to shape loaves, explain a bit more math, finish loaves, explain why she simply has to do math whether she likes it or not, let loaves rise, tell my angel princess to knock off the drama and just do the stinking math--you get the idea....

But life is life and motherhood is motherhood so there are obviously those days on a regular basis--you know, the ones where you're driving to whatever activity, biding your time, hustling the kiddo to get ready to go, stopping at the CVS, a "quick" trip to the grocery for milk, pop into the bank, finally home at 7:00 and wondering what on earth you're going to feed these people.

Couple that with trying to spend as little money as possible on food (despite rising food costs!) and possibly attempting to feed the family nutritious foods while you're at it...

This is why I love my crockpot.

Check this action out: sometime in the morning I grab a raw chicken (cheap broiler/ fryer not the more expensive roaster), toss it in the crock.  Dump a little something on top (salt and pepper?  garlic powder?  soy sauce? mustard and honey? vinaigrette salad dressing? apricot jam? I've tried it all and it's hard to go wrong here) . If you feel like it peel some carrots and toss them in on top (or get the baby carrots--whatever).  Potatoes if you have them, or don't bother, doesn't matter much.

Call it done and go on with your day.

This way, when you finally stumble into the house at the end of the day, you open the door to the lovely scent of supper ready.  Let me repeat: the lovely scent of supper ready!  Yes, that's right, Supper Is Ready.

Of course, chicken in the crock looks a little pasty for most people's tastes.  Let's face it, you want this:

Source: Norman Rockwell Museum in Vermont

And this is not the same thing:

Not a problem, I use my "superior presentation skills" and carve it in the kitchen.  Ha!  take that pasty chicken!

The meat is so moist and tender from the crock pot.  Really good.  And you can pour the drippings into a gravy separator and thicken it in a pot on the stove (stir in 1 Tablespoon corn starch (mixed with a little cold water) for every cup drippings) and...voila!  gravy!

This never ceases to make my little family happy and make me look like a good cook...roast chicken dinner on a busy day.  Easy, cheap, and good...Love it when a plan comes together!