Monday, September 15, 2014

{Chicken 3+ Ways!} No matter how you slice it!

... it'll be good, right!? Well, that's what they say anyway.

Chicken is a staple animal protein in our home. But we are also big fans of fatty fish like salmon and plant protein too! I was able to an organic whole chicken and though she was small, it was a good decision to purchase it because I have been wanting to make several recipes using one for awhile. (I am keeping my eyes peeled for a pasture raised chicken. Hard to come by in my area.) One recipe that I had been eyeing was by Organic Kitchen here. I didn't have some of the ingredients her recipe asked for so I found another recipe based on the ingredients I did have on hand by the little kitchen

Crock Pot Chicken 



I even attempted to broil the whole chicken but I slow cooked it too long (which was a really good thing, but not so much for presentation) to crisp the skin. The chicken was so tender it was falling off the bones! YUM!!


Left a not-to-be desired presentation! But it was SO tender!!


I cooked some jasmine rice for the base of the chicken soup for added substance and satisfaction. The family enjoyed the tender chicken and the simple but robust flavors. Reserve any leftover broth in an air tight container for future recipes or make the last recipe of this collection! 

What is your favorite recipe using the crock pot? You can find a few recipes of crock pot lovin' on my blog from stews to chili (taco soup and acorn squash stew). 

Be sure to stay for awhile and read on as I will be sharing some bone broth recipes from several food bloggers at the end. I saved the bones from this whole chicken and placed them in a bag in the freezer. When I have enough bones to make a bone broth, I will be making one of the recipes shared!

Two days later I made chicken tacos / burritos. Yea, I said two days later because the next day we ate some of the leftovers of the soup. There was still a good amount of chicken left so I sectioned it off into two more meals. The first of the two meals was chicken tacos.


Pictured with the chicken was a taco sauce I made from some of the broth of the crock pot whole chicken and I added paprika and cayenne to give it the color and spice it needed.


Chicken Tacos

I love having color on my plate by way of vegetables and fruits. (If you're wanting to add more color too, check out these posts on the [Real] Rainbow and Raising a Grazer. This was all the fixins I had on hand for chicken tacos: plain greek yogurt in place of sour cream, my DIY taco sauce, romaine lettuce, limes, orange and red bell peppers, yellow and red tomatoes, avocados, black beans, and shredded cheese. The tortillas were whole wheat without hydrogenated oils.


The next and last meal I prepared was chicken and dumplings. I first made a veggie broth (recipe here). As a kid, I did not like this dish at all! But as an adult, my taste buds have been refined (thank God) but I believe this kind of thing happens when your palate changes as you introduce (and reintroduce) more fruits and vegetables every day. Your body starts to crave good-for-you foods and eventually rejects not-so-good-for-you foods. Don't get me wrong, I still indulge but not as much anymore. Whew!


I used the last of the chicken by separating it from the carcass. This process is definitely up in the food therapy rankings like where I shared about fava beans (here) and leeks (here). There's just something about working with real food ingredients. It is empowering for me to offer real food to my family and I do this through simple ingredients. You can do this too! Subscribe to my blog to get recipes to your inbox first! 

Tip #1: Keep good food on hand and you'll eat good food. Tip #2: Always have staples on hand like carrots and onions. (For this recipe, I also added potatoes from my CSA and a bay leaf plus spices.) Tip #3: Add more vegetables even if you think you have enough. I didn't add more and wished I had!

Chicken and Dumplings






I used the reserved broth from the crock pot chicken recipe on day one and added some lasagna noodles while making whole wheat dense dumplings that ended up too dense for my liking. They were tasty on day one but didn't taste that great when reheated on day two. So I removed them on day two and was glad that I had added the lasagna noodles (my husband's request).


Now had I had the ability to purchase a larger whole chicken or more than one then I would have had enough to make my own bone broth. I have heard so many great benefits to consuming bone broth that I've got the bones from this whole chicken stored in the freezer until I have enough! Cannot wait!! 

So, I've asked a few real food bloggers to share bone broth from chicken. There may be a few from beef. If you've been wanting to make bone broth, you may need a crock pot (you can use a large pot too) but the crock pot I used in the first recipe and the other stews and chili is this one.

Bone Broth Recipes


From Raising Generation Nourished: Chicken Broth and Beef Broth.
From Delicious Obsessions: Chicken Broth.
Chicken Stock, Why Gelatin is Amazing, and 16 Reasons to Eat Bone Broth from Paleo.
From Small Footprint Family: Chicken Broth and Health Benefits.
From Montana Homesteader: Chicken Broth.
From Family Gone Healthy: Chicken Stock.
Chicken Broth, Beef Broth, and Benefits from Oh!Lardy.
From Economies of Kale: Chicken Broth.
From Real Food RN: 7 Day Bone Broth and Chicken Feet Bone Broth.
From The Organic Kitchen: Chicken Broth.
From Paleo Gone Sassy: Bone Broth with bonus add-ins.
From a Happy Health Nut: Chicken Broth.
Chicken Stock and Easy and Frugal Chicken Stock by Happy-Mothering.
From Recipes to Nourish: Chicken Broth.
From Gutsy by Nature: Overnight Chicken Broth.
Twice Cooked Chicken Broth and Beef Broth by Food Your Body Will Thank You For.

Choose, eat, and live well! =) 

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14 comments:

  1. Great ideas. I go through so many whole chickens in the winter.

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    1. Good quality whole chickens are hard to come by so when I see them, I surely will pick 'em up!

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  2. We always try to make our chickens last several meals, but it's always nice to have some fresh meal ideas to go along with the leftover chicken!

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    1. The chicken tacos are so easy. You could even add it over crushed organic tortilla chips in lieu of a flour or corn soft tortilla.

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  3. These are really good recipes. I really want to try the chicken tacos. I make bone broth every week.

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    1. What a great benefit to bone broth consumption. I like that you keep a stock of it year 'round.

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  4. I eat lots of chicken so thanks for sharing

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  5. Thanks for coming and sharing at Foodie Fridays. I love it when I can make more than one meal from a chicken. Your tacos look delicious! Hope to see you again this week.
    Blessings,
    Shari

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    1. Looking forward to connecting again. Thanks for your comment and readership. Be well! =)

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  6. Your chicken tacos look yummy (and oh so healthy)! And that Jasmine Rice sounds fabulous too!

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    1. Thank you for your comment and readership. Be well! =)

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  7. Awesome ideas! We do the same types of things. We belong to a chicken CSA so I have a lot of chicken in my freezer right now...but we're coming into chicken soup season (I make my broth too) and there's always burritos, tacos, etc. Pinning this for some new ideas!

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  8. Thanks for linking up with "Try a New Recipe Tuesday." This looks quite good. I hope you can join us again this week. http://our4kiddos.blogspot.com/2014/09/try-new-recipe-tuesday-september-23.html

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  9. Thanks for linking up with Try a New Recipe Tuesday. Looking forward to seeing what you'll share this week. http://our4kiddos.blogspot.com/2014/10/try-new-recipe-tuesday-october-7.html

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