Back to Making Stock - January 4, 2014

I have taken a few weeks off from the blog and cooking as well.  I made great use of past cooking through Christmas baskets filled with cakes, candy and jars put away during the Summer and Fall. Also, we shared pickles on cheese plates and salsa with chips and banana peppers on pizza with friends and family between traditional meals.  Mostly, we took turns cooking big warm meals with our group of friends who get together annually; this year in Tennessee.

On our return, I found very little in the fridge, but remembered a whole chicken in the freezer.  I did an InterNet search and found many people raving about cooking a whole chicken in the crockpot.  I admit I must have done something wrong because mine was tough and overcooked instead of falling off the bone moist as all the reviewers I read described.  BUT, I did have another success in this effort I thought worth sharing.

After removing the chicken from the crockpot and cutting the meat off the bones for our meal, I placed the bones back in the pot along with the onions, apples and lemons I had used for seasoning. Just to add more flavor, I also added the carcass of the turkey breast we had frozen after a fabulous Christmas Eve lunch and then, I added:

2 crushed cloves garlic
an onion cut in half
1 tsp. thyme
1 tsp. Mural of Flavor seasoning from Penzy's (choose the seasoning of your choice)
1 bayleaf
2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. pepper

I then filled the crockpot with water and turned it on low.  I left it on during dinner and a movie and poured it into 1/2 c. cupcake pans and plastic containers before going to bed.  This morning, I popped those in the cupcake pans out with the help of hot water and dropped them in a freezer bag for later.  The rest will make great corn risotto tomorrow night!

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