Chicken... and so much more!

I finally got over my fear of whole chickens today. I even made homemade chicken stock from it! I used my crock-pot to cook a whole chicken and make stock for meals later on this week. I definitely plan on using the left overs to make this recipe for Tyler's Ultimate Chicken Pot Pie and this recipe for Elly's Chicken Tortilla Soup. But for tonight we just ate the wings and thighs right off of the chicken and I paired it with my red-skinned mashed potatoes with a bit of fontina, butter, and salt and pepper mixed in and some carrots. It was great! I cannot wait to try the other recipes.

Source: Tyler's Ultimate
(I only used the part to make chicken stock and modified it by using the crock pot)

Chicken Broth

• 1 chicken, 3-3.5 pounds
• 8 cups cold water
  
• 3 carrots, cut into 2" pieces
• 2 celery sticks, cut into 2" pieces
• 1 onion, quartered
• 1 tbsp crushed bay leaf
• 2 tbsp thyme
• 1 tbsp rosemary
• 2 tbs chopped garlic (I have some garlic in a jar)

Clean out and remove all gizzards and neck from chicken. Rinse and pat inside and outside dry. Place in crock pot and cover with water. Add vegetables and herbs. Cook on low for 6 hours.

Remove chicken from pot and let cool (I removed the thighs and wings for dinner). Shred chicken off of bones and set aside for other meals. Once shredded chicken has cooked bag and refrigerate.

Remove veggies from pot and discard. Strain chicken broth with cheesecloth to catch any left over garlic or dried herbs. Place in containers and freeze or refrigerate until you need to use them.

I plated the chicken thigh and wing and removed the skin from the thigh. I steamed some carrots and topped them with 1/2 tsp butter. I also boiled some red potatoes, mashed them and mixed them with fontina, butter, salt and pepper. YUM! A great dinner.

Chicken - 3 WW points
Mashed Potatoes - 4 WW points
Carrots w/ butter - 2 WW points