Cookerati

Yep, that’s it, I cooked a dinner that my son gave me a huge thumbs up on.  I used the Crockpot to thoroughly cook the chicken in a sauce, then pulled out the bones, gristle and other desirable parts, shredded the chicken left and let it simmer for a little bit. This would make a great Superbowl or family gathering crockpot dish. I peeled all the skin off the chicken and cut off any fat I found. It’s not a heavy barbecue sauce.  I used a rub on the chicken (Denny Mike’s Pixie Dust) and then made my own sauce.  My assistant peeled potatoes, sprinkled on some olive oil and herbs and baked it in the oven.  I also diced up some peeled hubbard squash threw on a pat of butter and sprinkled on dried sage and microwaved it.

When you prepare the chicken in advance (like the night before?), the rest of the meal will come together in a half hour or so without too much work.  The squash can also be prepped in advance.  I peel and cut apart my squash, then dice it up and put it into vacuum seal bags (vacuum sealed of course) so that I can use it as I need it.  If Whole Foods can sell squash that way, then why not do it myself?  It can be frozen after you vacuum seal to save for another meal if needed (hubbard squash are huge).

Barbecue Sauce

• 1/4 cup catsup
• 1/4 cup water
• 2 cloves garlic minced
• 1 onion diced
• 1 tbs white wine vinegar
• 2 tbs honey
• 2 tsp grated ginger
• juice of one lemon
• 1 tsp paprika
• salt
• pepper

Put all of the ingredients into a bowl and whisk together.

Crockpot Chicken Directions

Peel skin off of the chicken and remove any visible fat. Sprinkle with rub. Layer the chicken in the crockpot.  I used about 14 chicken drums, but you can mix up legs and breasts or even use a whole chicken.  Pour the sauce over the top and turn the crockpot on medium for about 6 –7 hours.  Remove bones, gristle and undesirable stuff from the crockpot. Break up the chicken or pull apart.  Stir back into the sauce and turn on high for a half hour to an hour.

Rosemary Potatoes

Peel, Slice and layer potatoes on a cookie sheet. Sprinkle with olive oil, pepper, and rosemary.  Place in the oven at about 375 until done.

Sage Winter Squash

Place peeled and diced squash into microwave bowl with a pat or two of butter, sprinkle with sage (mine came from my garden but you can use the stuff in the can) and microwave 4 –8 minutes until starting to feel soft.