Easy crock pot chicken!

Good morning readers! It's Thursday and this is recipe day. I would like to share two distinct ways in which to cook a whole chicken. Both are easy and result in a really great meal when paired with rice, stuffing or potatoes and a vegetable of some kind. This week I will start with the crock-pot chicken. For those of you who have never prepared a chicken before, please check out this site for step by step preparation instructions: http://www.helpwithcooking.com/cooking-poultry/roast-chicken.html  It is really important that you have that clean work surface and that you clean thoroughly once finished. I always prepare mine in the sink. I clean it well first, then ready the chicken. Once I put it in the crock pot or oven, I then go back and clean the sink again with a bacterial cleanser to be sure I have left no juices behind to contaminate something else.

For crock pot chicken, turn the crock pot on high and place the lid on while you prepare the chicken. After thoroughly preparing the chicken, I stuff salted crushed cloves of garlic under the skin in as many places as possible. I use anywhere from 6-10 cloves, cutting large cloves in half. I also tuck a sprig of fresh rosemary under the skin on each breast and over each side on the back. Look for the edges of the skin and gently pull it up; the garlic and rosemary will slide right in as far as you want it to go! This seasoning seeps into the whole chicken for really great flavor. I also put about a tsp of salt in the cavity of the chicken. I then place the whole chicken breast side down in the crock pot (if you have the crock pot bags, use one; they make clean up super easy). Leave the crock pot on high for the first thirty minutes and then turn to low. Allow to cook a total of 7 hours on low or I have left one as long as 10 hours if away for the day. If you are walking out the door as soon as you put it in the crock pot, it is fine to go ahead and turn the pot to low. I always start out on high to just be sure the crock pot is hot. You can cook the chicken on high if you prefer and it will be ready in four to five hours, but won't be quite as tender. Once the cooking is complete, I take the whole chicken out of the pot and place into a large bowl. Use a very large spatula or spoon to get up under the chicken and lift it out. Sometimes it falls apart in the process, so use a slotted spoon to fish the rest out of the juices. I then use a fork to remove all the meat from the bone, placing the meat in another bowl or platter for serving. The meat will literally just fall off the bones. Throw the bones back into the crock pot, put on the lid, and allow to cool. I usually leave mine overnight and the next morning, just lift the bag out and throw away, or when I don't have a bag, the remains will come out gelled together for easy cleanup. Refrigerate the leftover chicken and use the rest for another meal or for really great sandwiches. I usually cook a chicken like this at least every other week and sometimes more often because it is so tasty and easy; it is also nice to have on hand for many other recipes that call for chicken. Enjoy!

Next week I'll share my other whole chicken recipe. I hope you enjoy this one. For busy parents, this one is the best because it takes little time and can go for so many purposes. Cooking is about creating community. Bring your family together at least three to four nights a week for a meal around the table with the television turned off. Research shows that children who eat as a family at least this many times a week perform better in school and have better relationships with others. Choose happiness!

Ricotta Cheese Bread

I grew up, like most of my generation, on store bought sandwich sliced white bread. My mom did, however, make Parker House rolls from time to time, and an occassional sweet bread. I loved the smell of bread baking in the oven, and even more, loved the taste of a hot roll with butter! (Though, I'm pretty sure we ate margarine in our home.) As an adult entering the grocery buying world, and being the beginning of the "health food" craze, I discovered there was a world of difference between white bread (I soon dubbed "killer" bread) and wheat bread, and switched instantly to wheat sandwich bread. Those breads have come a long way now, and you actually can find fairly healthy bread in the stores, but there is nothing like the smell and taste of homemade bread, slathered with REAL butter! Though the recipe I'm sharing with you is not whole wheat (I am experimenting to find one for the bread machine; it's tricky) and not as healthy as I might prefer, it is delicious. Baking bread will definitely bring some happy faces into the kitchen and is a great way to treat your family or yourself. (Just a side note: slathering with butter is NOT healthy, so occassional is a good word to remember here!)

So as promised, I will post one new recipe each week. My friend Betty requested this recipe for Ricotta Cheese Bread after I posted on Facebook that I had just taken it out of the pan. Though I created this for my bread machine, you can make it regardless of whether you have one or not by simply mixing the ingredients together, kneading your dough, letting it rise until double in size, punch it down, place in loaf pan and allow to rise again, then bake at 350 degrees for approximately 40 mins. (this is a small loaf, so that will be my best guess for time) or until golden brown. Bread machines are fairly inexpensive these days and if you like homemade, no preservative bread, then it is a great investment. It is also an investment in yourself, as it definitely will save you time. Buy one with a timer so you can walk in from a long day and smell your bread nearly finished and ready to eat! 

Ricotta Cheese Bread

1/4 c. milk
3/4 c. ricotta cheese (part-skim is what I used)
1 egg
2 1/4 c. unbleached flour
2 Tbs. sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 pkg or 2 tsps yeast
4 tsps butter

Place milk and cheese in a microwave proof cup and heat to 80 degrees. (This will only take about 20 seconds on high or one minute on half power) It should feel just slightly warm.

Pour into machine; add egg; measure in flour, sugar and salt; make a small indention in the center and add yeast; place one tsp of butter in the four corners of the pan. Follow manufacturers directions for one pound loaf. On mine, I set it to medium color and used the sweet bread setting. This is a fairly light bread, but oh so tasty! Enjoy!

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