Whole Chicken and Chicken Broth in the crockpot

This recipe was a little intimidating to me because I had never before bought a whole chicken and cooked it, let alone make homemade broth.  But this was surprisingly easy(crock pot does most of the work) and very delicious!

1 whole chicken(I bought frozen and let thaw in fridge for 2-3 days)
5-6 cups of hot water(mine would only hold 5 cups)
2 stalks of celery, rinsed and cut into chunks
2 carrots, peeled and chopped into chunks
1/4-1/2 onion, chopped
1 TBSP parsley
1/2 TBSP peppercorns
1 tsp Real Salt
3-4 dashes poultry seasoning

1. Chop all vegetables and place in bottom of crock pot.
2. Sprinkle all seasonings over vegetables.
3. Rinse chicken and place on top of vegetables.
4. Pour hot water into crockpot.
5. Cook on low overnight(about 9-10 hours).
6. In the morning, take out chicken, be careful because it is so tender it falls apart(Use it for soup or any recipe that calls for chicken).  Take all the meat off the bones and then put the bones back into the crockpot with the broth.
7.  Continue to cook the broth and bones all day about 10-11 hours.
8. Turn crockpot off and ladle broth, veggies and bone into a strainer over a large glass bowl.  You want a strainer with very small holes.  When broth is all strained into the large bowl. Let cool for 30 minutes covered with a paper towel.  Take paper towel off and cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place in fridge.
9. The next morning the fat will solidify and you can easily scrape it off.  Then your broth is ready for you to use in any recipe.  It is very delicious!

Note:  Some recipes I read said to strain the broth with cheesecloth too.  I didn't have any so I didn't use any.:)  But if you want all the tiny particles strained then you might want to try it with cheesecloth.

Yield:  All the meat from the chicken, plus about 4 1/2 cups of chicken broth.  You can use the broth right away, or freeze it for later use.

Taylor's 3 month check-up

This past Monday, Taylor had his check-up with his allergist.  I thought that he would test Taylor again, but he wants to wait another year before we test him again.  He just asked how he did with egg and soy and whether he had any other allergic reactions during the past three months.  He was very impressed with how much better Taylor's eczema on his hands looked.   We decided to still stay off egg and soy and rotate months or every couple months on and off to see if he still has any reaction.  Then we have another check-up in six months.  Taylor was very glad that he didn't have to get poked again.  Taylor's doctor also gave us some samples of coconut free shampoo, conditioner, sunscreen, soap, and lotion to try.  I haven't found a convenient way to purchase shampoo without coconut.  He doesn't really use conditioner so I hadn't looked at what's available.  The samples are put out by the Mayo Clinic.  So, I'm guessing that they are expensive.  Maybe every six months I can just get free samples!!:)

Life is good, and Taylor is accepting his lot in life.  He does very well and always tells everyone he meets that he has allergies.  At first I was kind-of embarrassed by this, but I have realized this is a good thing.  The more people around him that know he has allergies, the safer I can keep him.  Taylor's doctor also recommended getting a kid friendly allergy bracelet.  Walgreens is currently selling them through November 1, 2013.  I think that I will go and look at them and see how much they are.  For preschool, this might be a good reminder to him and other kids that he has to always ask before he eats something.

So, we journey on... continually trying new recipes and finding more things that Taylor is happy to eat.  I also feel like I am feeling so much better since cutting egg out of my diet.  I am hopeful that I too can out-grow that allergy if I in fact have one.  Taylor and I both love eggs, so it would be good to eat them again.:)  But I am quite happy with flaxseed and it seems to work in many recipes.

Until next time...have a wonderful day!!