Roast Chicken

Now that I seem to have my kids on board with the more natural approach to our diet, I'm tacking a far more formidable foe:  my husband.  He was great at first.  Thought the switch to a more homemade lifestyle was admirable, exciting.  Now he's realized it isn't going anywhere.  He's lamenting the loss of his Kraft Mac and Cheese, his Hamburger Helper, and his microwave popcorn.  I'm guessing he thought I'd give up on this all by now.  He told me the other day, "there's nothing to eat here but ingredients."  And in a way, he's right.

The downside to a more natural, homemade diet is that it is more time consuming.  It is harder to bake a loaf of bread than to buy one.  It takes five hours to bake a loaf in my bread maker, so I have to plan ahead and make sure it's ready when he needs it.  I hadn't considered how this lifestyle shift would affect his ability to snack!  So, this week, I will be focusing on what I call "convenience" meals.  We'll be focusing on items that can freeze easily and just be heated up when needed!  (This could also be a celebration of my new deep freezer!!)  From frozen pizzas to soups, I'll show you how to make items that easily double- or triple- so the leftovers can be stored for those days when you'd rather order a pizza than make dinner.  

Tonight, we'll start with my basic crock pot roast chicken.  I'm starting here, because the roast chicken is one of the most under-appreciated meals in my opinion.  It's inexpensive, resourceful (for other recipes) and impressive when plated.  

Ingredients:
One whole roaster chicken

12 oz bottle beer

6 oz pineapple juice

Put the chicken in your crockpot and cover with the beer.  Add pineapple juice.  Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours.  Serve with rice/couscous. To make gravy, simply scoop the amount of liquid from the bottom of your crock pot you want, and add a little cornstarch mixed with water.  Bring it to a boil while stirring.  Then, turn the heat to low and simmer for 5 minutes stirring occasionally. It's that simple!  Now, save those bones and additional fluids!  You'll need them for the chicken stock we'll make tomorrow!  Any chicken you don't eat for dinner, can be pulled off the bones (this will be easy as the chicken will basically melt off the bones anyway) and used for chicken caesar salads, chicken noodle soup, etc.  If you don't want to use them immediately, store them in a gallon ziploc bag and toss it in your freezer.  I'll teach you how to make chicken noodle soup from scratch later this week and you'll need that chicken!!!! :)

Enjoy!