Chicken Carcass Soup

Last night, I had a delightful rotisserie chicken! (Yay!) But, it was overcooked. (Boo!) It still tasted pretty good (yay!), but quite a bit of it was inedible due to the scorched parts (boo!). I decided to make some bean stew later this week (a la "Recipe for a Snowy Day")... Which is not only a great way to use up those blackened bones and dried-up meat and shrivelly chicken skin, but also a fab way to get the nasties out of the fridge as well!!

I started by picking all of the usable meat off the bones -- I'll eat that for dinner tonight -- and threw all the rest of the carcass into my trusty crockpot. Some of you might be aghast that I didn't toss that tasty browned skin -- but I never do! I always let the skin simmer with my broth, and after everything is strained and cooled, I just skim the fat from the top. It couldn't be easier, and the broth turns out virtually fat-free this way.  And even the littlest bit of extra flavor helps.

I also added the woody stalk pieces to some asparagus that's been staring me in the face a little too hard... (Because, again, it's all getting strained... Why not add what you can't eat?)

... As well as the green leafy ass-end of my beautiful cauliflower.  (Not pictured: the bug I found clinging onto a floret for dear life!)

Then, I grabbed the ass-end of my celery and chopped it up too.  By the way... You know those green and yellow leaves that you toss whenever you chop celery? Shame on you! ;)  I always use mine in broths, soups, and stews for extra flavor. You should try it!

Last (but certainly not least), I gutted the nasty parts out of a sweet potato before coarsely chopping it and adding it to the mix.

Once the veggies were put into the crockpot with my carcass, I added some liquid.  Add whatever makes you happy -- chicken or veggie broth that you already have, water, booze, anything.  I had frozen a couple of cups of "onion broth" which came from my day-long onion simmering session a few weeks back... It will make a tasty addition for sure!  Tonight, I will soak my dry Lima beans and tomorrow we'll have a yummy, healthy, homemade dinner.

That's all for now. Happy broth-making! :)

How to Caramelize Onions in the Crockpot

One of life's biggest pains in the ass is chopping, sweating, and browning onions. The flavor really adds an important element to virtually anything that requires onions. So, we chop and hope for an easier alternative.

I had done some research and found that it is possible to cook, brown, and caramelize onions in the crockpot. When I tried it, the results were excellent! In fact, spending one day babysitting my onions yielded many days worth of tasty, awesome, flavorful brown onions.

Here's all you need: a 5-pound bag of plain old yellow or white onions, a couple of tablespoons of olive oil, and your trusty crockpot. 

Simply peel and chop all of your onions in the desired shape. (Rings for French onion soup, big blobs for stews, or minced if you like an all-purpose easy onion shape.). Put them all into your crockpot and drizzle your olive oil onto the onions. You don't need much! I typically use somewhere between 1 and 2 tablespoons.

Stir them up to coat with the oil, cover, and put your crockpot on "high" for a good long time (about 10 to 12 hours). Halfway through, you can stir them up a little.  Once the onions are done, I cool them overnight before portioning and freezing them. The onions yield a lot of juice, which is great to substitute for water in any savory recipe. About half a cup of "onion sludge"  can be used in place of an onion in your favorite recipe. 

Yes, five pounds of onions take a long time to cook this way.  But at least you can go about your day without having to keep your eyes glued to a skillet!  By the way... Your house will smell murderously delicious and savory while these are cooking away! Be sure to have a good dinner plan to distract you from the seductive aroma!

Recipe For a Snowy Day

Winter will officially begin this week, and today was the first major snow that we’ve had here in New England. As usual, my husband will be getting home pretty late . He does an hour-long commute both to and from work each day, so rather than sit in snowy traffic for 4 hours on a snowy Friday night, he’s going to stay in the office for a couple of extra hours until the traffic dies down.

This past week, we had a power outage that left us in the dark for 4 days. Needless to say, all the crap in my fridge and freezer were lost — and that includes my precious condiment collection! We had our weekly groceries delivered last night, though: mostly a lot of fresh meat and veggies. Eating out of cans for 4 days in a row can be pretty draining to the soul!

Since the weather outside is pretty brutal today, I’ve decided that I really want to make something warm and comforting for dinner tonight. And nothing accomplishes that feeling better than a big bowl of homemade soup — except, of course, if it’s the sort of soup that can be made by throwing a pile of stuff into the crockpot and forgetting about it.

CROCKPOT VEGGIE-BEEF SOUP

1 lb. London broil

1 15-ounce can of your favorite type of beans, drained (and hopefully rinsed)

2 cups vegetable juice cocktail (V8)

1/2 cup pineapple juice*

1/3 cup low-sodium soy sauce

2-4 cups of water (some of the veggies will provide moisture too)

1/2-1 cup chopped carrot

1/2-1 cup chopped celery

1 large chopped onion

good-sized pinch of dried rosemary (maybe 1/2 tsp or so; crumble it up between your fingers as you add it, unless you like big blobs of it everywhere.)

small pinch of dried basil (1/4 tsp or so)

2 bay leaves

Salt and pepper to taste




DIRECTIONS:

Chop up all the veggies and place them in the crockpot; you can choose to cut the meat now, or pull it apart once it’s cooked. Add the other ingredients into the crock pot and cook on High for 4 hours, or Low for 8 hours. (Add the beans at the beginning if you want them soft and falling apart, or at the end if you like yours to be more firm.) I’d recommend using salt once this soup has been served; soy sauce and V8 have quite a bit of sodium, and you may find you don’t really need it.

To make this a vegetarian meal, simply omit the London broil and add another 1-2 cans of beans (mix and match whatever you like).

I’ve added all kinds of other vegetables to this soup, but the ingredients above are the basic building blocks. Peppers, zucchini, mushrooms, and fennel are all delicious in this recipe.