“Still Going” Italian Chicken

Here is a great idea that might save your bacon! This double-decker recipe will end up being two (or more!) meals for your family with half the work and half the cleanup!

This recipe works best if you have an oval crock pot. (I love mine so much I’ve been using it without the handle for the lid since it broke off… but seriously, they’re under $20 and SOOOO helpful!)

Once you’ve made the chicken, safe half a breast for the soup you’ll be making the next night! Happy crocking!

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"Still Going" Italian Chicken

Here is a great idea that might save your bacon! This double-decker recipe will end up being two (or more!) meals for your family with half the work and half the cleanup!

Course Entree

Cuisine Italian

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 6 hours

Total Time 6 hours

Servings 10

Calories 438 kcal

Author Meghan Gray

Ingredients

• 5 pounds Roaster Chicken a 3-5 pound bird works.
• 1/4 cup Spice Blend your choice of spice blend
• 1 large Onion roughly chopped

Instructions

1. Wash the chicken and reserve the giblets package for another use. (We cook them up into a savory treat for my brother's dog. A little bay leaf, a little salt, and some water to cover, then simmer it on the stove until it smells and looks done. Remove the bones and serve over dry dog food.)
2. Peel and chop the onion, roughly, and toss it in the bottom of the crock. Pat your chicken dry and rub it with your spice blend. (More on that later! You can use plain old poultry seasoning, salt and pepper, whatever you like.) Put it, boob-side up, in the crock pot. Slow cook on low for 6 hours or until a meat thermometer inserted in the breast reads 185.
3. Now, this is some TENDER, falling off the bone chicken. Remove it from the bone and have it for dinner with whatever you like, but keep out about half a breast before you do.
4. Return the bones to the crock pot. Throw in a couple carrots, some celery tops, whatever you have on hand. Add another onion if you want or maybe a clove of garlic. Like I said, whatever you've got on hand that you like in soup.
5. Add water to cover and set on "low." Cook overnight. In the morning, strain the contents of the crock pot into a stock pot and add your reserved chicken. You can either use this as the base for chicken soup today, or freeze it for "soup night" another time. (Stay tuned for "Still Going" Chicken Soup!)

So now that you’ve cooked your chicken, you’re going to use the carcass to make Peasant Soup. You can either eat this the same week or put it in your freezer for an emergency or a night when you don’t feel like cooking!