>Director: It must be more complicated than this. Shopping? Meal Planning? Oh, wait, we did that already.
Daisy: I was sick all weekend! Flat out on the couch, alternating coughing fits with naps and sipping fluids of all kinds. Shop? The family was lucky I didn’t just call for pizza.
Assistant (lifting top of crock pot): Mm, this smells good.
Director: Don’t wreck the shot!
Daisy: Why are all these people in my tiny kitchen? Let me baste this bird or one of you will have to do it yourself!
Director and assistant exit, but stay nearby, just around corner.
Assistant: Okay, let’s put the recipe on the air. And what’s in the rice mix.
Daisy: It’s leftover sweet corn cut off the cob, red peppers Chuck roasted on the grill last night, and a splash of smoky Chipotle Tabasco sauce, in boil-in-bag Success brown rice.
Assistant: Call Producer: potential sponsor alert!
Director: Or not.

But back to reality, not “show.” This chicken was adapted from a concept from Stephanie’s Crockpot 365 project. I was recovering from a bug, not full strength yet, I knew teaching would probably exhaust me, but I still wanted to serve a decent meal. Keeping our nutrition up is one way I can help boost our immune systems in times of craziness and stress. Sometimes it’s the only variable I can control! I mixed up the spices, threw the chicken in the pot (gently), and let it cook on low all day. When I got home, I basted it once or twice, but it was quite moist already. The meat, in fact, fell off the bones when I attempted to pull the carcass out of the crock pot.

Crock Pot Whole Chicken

Remove innards. Cook if desired (I don’t).
Stuff chicken with 1/4 onion.
Mix spices in a bowl; rub or sprinkle over entire chicken. If I’d felt up to it, I would have used fresh herbs. I still have a few growing in the living room, mainly oregano and thyme. The basil didn’t like the transition from the deck to the house.
Place chicken breast side down in crock pot.
Cook on low all day or on high for — I don’t know, I didn’t try it that way. That will have to be another show.

Spices:
2 tsp salt
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon black or white pepper

Enjoy! We did.

I entered this recipe (not the “show”) in Success Rice’s Feed 4 for $10 Recipe contest. It may or may not be a winner, but I’ll enjoy reading and downloading the others!