Chicken Broth

I used my beautiful canner by myself for the first time ever this week to can chicken stock,or is it broth, no I think it is stock. My wonderful loving husband bought the canner for my birthday a few years ago. At the time my son could fit in it with plenty of room for veggies, so I was doubtful that I would ever use it. I love homemade chicken stock or broth or whatever and since we switched to Organic farmers market whole chickens I make broth after I cook the chicken. It is easier then you can ever imagine! First the pictures of canning. . .

That black line above the canner is the Microwave! This thing is huge!

These jars are quart size. If you are like me 4 cups fit into each one perfectly.

Four Quarts of Chicken stock. They are beautiful!

So I discovered the easiest way to cook a chicken in a crockpot. First defrost it, if your microwave refuses to defrost anything like ours, ours is only good for a bread box, place it in the refrigerator over night. You roughly chop one onion and put at the bottom of the crockpot. Place your defrosted chicken on top of the onion. Season your chicken and then put the lid on it until it is done. Here is the recipe and the link to the wonderful website I found it. http://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2011/02/25/recipe-the-best-whole-chicken-in-a-crock-pot/ 100 Days of Real Food Thank You for the recipe and awesome job! You have inspired me to give up my cereal crutch even though my kids now think I am the worst. Well until I let them eat banana pie for breakfast... Moving on.

The Best Whole Chicken in a Crock Pot

Ingredients

• 2 teaspoons paprika
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 teaspoon thyme
• ½ teaspoon garlic powder
• ¼ teaspoon cayenne (red) pepper
• ¼ teaspoon black pepper
• 1 onion
• 1 large chicken

Directions

1. Combine the dried spices in a small bowl.
2. Loosely chop the onion and place it in the bottom of the slow cooker.
3. Remove any giblets from the chicken and then rub the spice mixture all over. You can even put some of the spices inside the cavity and under the skin covering the breasts.
4. Put prepared chicken on top of the onions in the slow cooker, cover it, and turn it on to high. There is no need to add any liquid.
5. Cook for 4 – 5 hours (for a 3 or 4 pound chicken) or until the chicken is falling off the bone. Enjoy!

This is a really good, really easy recipe. Then if you are like me and love homemade chicken stock pour water over the bones and let it simmer on low overnight. Okay I also add garlic, carrots, celery, and a few other herbs and spices. This is completely optional but it makes the broth so much better. Then next morning you will wake up to a lovely smell. Of course you have to separate the broth and the bones but if you have a strainer it is just time consuming. Here is the good news chicken broth lovers you can freeze it in ziplock bags or any other freezable containers.

I would tell you how to use your super big canner but I am not an expert so I will give you a helpful link that will lead you in the right direction. http://www.simplycanning.com/. Simply canning Thank you for walking me through my anxiety. You were a great help to me and I will be pouring over your site now that I know how easy it is to can my own creations. You too are awesome.

If I didn't have so much school work I might start buying jars in all sizes and raiding the farmers market for delicious fruits and vegetables to can. Wait I did just make a giant batch of spaghetti sauce, 18 cups of it to be exact that I divided up and froze. I know what I want for Christmas Jars, Jars, and lids that go on top. Huston I have a problem! Now if my husband could make our fruit trees grow faster. I guess we will have to buy bigger trees to make up the difference.

I hope you week is filled with dreams of chicken broth, lots of love and bright laughter.