Rotisserie Chicken At Home

You know those nights when you just want to run in your local mega-grocer/pharmacist/home decor/appliance/hardware/tire shop oh the list goes on, to grab a rotisserie chicken and make dinner a bit easier on yourself? Yes. You know those nights. But what if you don't live near said mega giant superstore? Or possibly you may live near the store which must not be named but you refuse to darken their doors for ethical reasons you attempt to keep to yourself. Or maybe you had absolutely no intention of leaving the house at all to begin with and just want dinner to be easier because sometimes things just need to be easy!

If you happen to have the foresight to know its going to be one of those nights, or maybe you came across whole fryers on sale and said young chicken has been chilling in your fridge, here is a super simple way to turn it into a gorgeous golden rotisserie foul that can be used in a number of ways.

Here is what you need to gather:

-One whole fryer (I like Smart Chicken brand but to each their own)
- 3 tbsp. ghee or butter
- 1 tsp. smoked sea salt (regular will also work) plus a little more for the inside of the bird
- 1 tsp. fresh ground black pepper
- 1 tsp. garlic powder
- 1 1/2 tsp. smoked paprika
- 1 tbsp. herbs de provence
- 6 medium sized sheets of tinfoil
- slow cooker

Now depending on the bird you buy, you might have to remove any innards and truss it yourself. Smart Chicken brand makes it easy...nothing to dig out and they have done the trussing for you. Rinse the bird in cold water inside and out and pat dry. Salt the inside generously. Truss the bird with baker's twine if needed.

Take your 6 pieces of tinfoil and turn them into 6 balls of tinfoil. This is going to elevate the chicken in the slow cooker. Place the balls in the bottom of your slow cooker.

Melt the ghee or butter in a small bowl and add all the seasonings. Mix this and flip your bird over breast side down. Use a basting brush to coat the underside of the chicken. Move the fryer to the slow cooker, breast side up, position it atop the tinfoil balls so that it is not touching the bottom of crock. Continue to coat the bird until you have used all your seasoned ghee.

Set your slow cooker to low if you plan on being gone all day. 6-8 hours on low should do it. Otherwise if its lunch time or later and you just realized that you need to do something about feeding these people who also inhabit your home, set it on high for 4-6 hours.

Once done, move the chicken to a cutting board and let it rest for about 10 minutes. From here you can do whatever you would normally do with your mega-mart bought rotisserie chicken. Feel free to play around with the seasonings. Making enchiladas out of your bird? Take out the herbs de provence and halve the paprika. Add in some cumin, chili powder, onion salt, and cilantro. You get the idea.

On this particular night I had no immediate plans for my bird. It was a Thursday evening and I knew my kids would be in and out with various activities, so I cooked it and set aside the breasts and drumsticks for them to grab when they were ready. Everything else I de-boned and stored in the fridge to use for tomorrow night's meal. And I may have been snacking while I was cutting it up. I've taken to observing the Catholic practice of no meat on Friday so while my kids and husband will enjoy this chicken with dinner tomorrow, I had to sneak some in tonight.  I'm thinking of making a yummy looking soup I found from Edie over at Life in Grace. I just finished her memoir, All The Pretty Things, and I highly recommend it. I'm thinking her Chipolte Pumpkin Soup sounds perfect for a Friday evening in Fall.

Eats Day 6 & Fall Garden Hopes

I have really noticed a major increase in energy over the past day or so. I put it to good use with a 3.5 mile run at 7 am, followed by working at our business for about 4 hours (our monthly organic delivery came!), did some major major grocery restocking, came home and proceeded to build a raised bed in the backyard.

We have lived in our home about 5 years and have had variable luck with gardening. One year we had more squash, zucchini, tomatoes, and jalapenos than we knew what to do with. This year, everything I planted was killed by a late frost, and everything I replanted became so overgrown with weeds that I gave up. Before I went on vacation I noticed a few squash plants holding on but by the time I got back they had succumbed to the heat.

I have been dreaming of a collection of raised beds for some time now and yesterday I got out the tools and scraps of wood from our shop and got to work. Hopefully I can get some stuff in the ground to have a small fall crop. Turnips, and kale, maybe acorn or butternut squash.

A few of my hens were hanging around watching me build the raised bed.
Chickens are actually really sweet.



Tired and glad I was able to construct a box without my husbands help, also very glad I didn't lose a finger to the saw.
Or break my wrist with the drill.



 

 

After the run, I was starved but had to rush to open the store. My sweet husband made us a big Sunday breakfast and called me to come home and eat. We live very close to our business so I was able to run right over and enjoy having someone else cook for a change. Funny thing was, he made Paleo pancakes and instead of using coconut flour he used shredded unsweetened coconut. They tasted fine but the consistency was off. He kept commenting on how they weren't cooking right and then I noticed what he had used. It was comical but he was very adamant about how I should start labeling my mason jars better since we have coconut in 7 different forms in our house. Shredded, flaked, fresh, flour, water, milk, and oil....all coconut!

 

Breakfast was still delicious. I topped my pancakes with a bit of organic blueberry jam and a splash of maple syrup.

 

 

 



For lunch I had some Wild Planet sardines in marinara sauce, with pickled asparagus, and a nectarine.

After this amazing lunch I pulled the dutch oven out of the well....the oven. It had been hard at work braising some ribeyes. Benefit of having a grocery store....lots of meat to eat!

I shredded it and nibbled on a little and then put it away for dinner later. I had a spoon full of Justin's Chocolate Hazelnut butter and a bottle of GT's Kombucha. I fixed dinner for the family but skipped it myself. I just wasn't hungry. Energy and not feeling hungry all the time? Well, its pretty awesome I have to say.

Giant platter of meat. Yum! We now have emergency protein for days.

Day 1 Eats

Today started off rainy. My very favorite kind of day. I spent the better part of an hour drinking coffee and blogging on the back porch.

In just a short time I had to prepare breakfast. This morning it was bacon with over easy fried eggs. Try putting your eggs on top of fresh baby greens. So so so good! A little trick I learned while on vacation.

 

 

Lunch was two of these leftover chicken legs. See the begging Primal Aussie?

With a little bit of primal cereal. Just some nuts topped with fresh sliced bananas, coconut flakes, and half and half.

 

 

Dinner was round steak with roasted kuri squash. Simple, easy, filling.

 

(Not shown the super yummy dark chocolate I consumed this afternoon, still battling the sugar monster round these parts!)

Workout for the day was 30 minutes of Polly Yoga. I needed it after the strenuousness of yesterdays at home crossfit workout. Stretching is oh so good!

Setting Up For Success

(or more accurately titled...What To Do If You Live In the Boonies.)

First and foremost. Nature should be your playground. You can hop, skip, and jump all you like. You can hike long distances and sprint short ones. You can landscape your yard and get a hell of a workout.

But what about those days when you have all of 20 minutes in between kid stuff and house stuff and life stuff?

Then you gotta just bust out a quick and fast and effective routine.

I have grand plans of turning a portion of our outdoor shop with the 12ft ceilings into a mini-crossfit box. We are slowly acquiring equipment and working on cleaning and reorganizing. So far the things we have are giving us a pretty good workout.

You gotta jump jump!

This is something I am admittedly not good at! I need to get faster. I need to go longer. I need to not tangle my feet in the cord!


Pot called the kettlebell what?

Weights in any form are a must. We have the standard plate weights and a bench (but those are waiting for the proper gym configuration) and now we have these kettlebells in 10lb and 20lb.



Pull-ups aren't just for toddlers!

This right here is a personal goal. I have never in my life been able to do a pull up. I am also terrible at push ups. Evidently all my strength is in my lower body. It's that rear end that powers me up hills when I'm running.



Dreaded Dreadmill.....

This is not necessary. But it is really good for when you can't leave the house to get in a run or a long walk.

Only a few items remain on the wish list. Boxes for jumping. Rope for climbing. We have the mats for a cushy landing!

That's pretty much the basics. All these things used in the right ways can whip you into shape. That is...as long as you are eating right. We all know correct nutrition is the absolute foundation for a healthy life.

And speaking of...dinner last night was delicious. I made Practical Paleo's Smoky Bacon Wrapped Chicken Thighs paired with a simple green salad and sweet potato.

 

 

I am so happy there are leftovers!