One Crock pot, Two meals

Hi ladies!  Hope everyone had a good weekend.  Today I am sharing some quick, easy and nutritious recipes that I have added into my weekly rotation.  The best part of all, most of the prep can be done all at once, in one crock pot for these two separate meals which is so helpful when you have little ones hanging on you during dinner preparation.

Meal #1. Chicken with Roasted Potatoes & Peas

-whole roasting  chicken

- onion

- garlic

- garlic powder

- 1 tsp sea salt

- 1 tsp pepper

- 1 tsp thyme

- 1 tsp rosemary

- 1/4 tsp cayenne

-potatoes

Frozen peas

-Remove giblets, rinse chicken and pat dry .  Mix spices together and rub on chicken.  Roughly chop onion and place in bottom of crock pot.  Place chicken, breast side up on top of the onions.  Crush garlic and place on top of chicken.

Cook on low for 6-8 hours or on high for 3-4.
-Take chicken out and let cool.  (Leave all the juices in the crock pot.  You will use these when making homemade bone broth for Meal #2.) While chicken is cooling, preheat oven to 475, chop potatoes and toss with olive oil, sea salt and rosemary.  Cook potatoes for about 10-15 min or until crispy at 475 degrees.  Stir occasionally.  Warm frozen peas according to instructions.
-Remove all the meat from the chicken, then place bones back in the crock pot, (with all the extra juices)
- Serve the chicken breasts and legs, then reserve the other meat for the soup.



Meal #2.  Chicken Noodle Soup with Homemade Broth

Bone Broth 

- leftover bones, juices
- gizzards
- 2 or 3 roughly chopped carrots
- 2 or 3 roughly chopped celery
- 1 or 2 roughly chopped onion
- 1 head of garlic
- fresh herbs
- other vegetables that you may want to use up
- 2 TBSP Apple Cider Vinegar

Chicken Noodle Soup
- diced carrots
- diced celery
- diced onions
- minced garlic
- package of egg noodles
- leftover chicken
- broth (from above)
- frozen peas

Making this homemade broth is so simple!  Plus, you just make it in the crock pot from the night before.  After I serve the chicken, I place the bones and gizzards back into the crock pot and cover it.  Then, after the kids go to bed, I chop all the vegetables into 3 or 4 pieces and throw them in the pot.  I then add 2 TBSP of apple cider vinegar which helps pull all the nutrients out of the bones.  Then add water making sure the carcass and vegetables are all submerged in water.  I let it cook in the crock pot overnight for about 12 hours, but you could go even longer.
- Once it is done, I turn off the crock pot and let it cool for about an hour.  I then use a metal sieve to pour it through to catch any small bones,  I put it into mason jars and refrigerate it.  You could also freeze it.

-The broth is so nutritious because it is high in magnesium, calcium, phosphorus, sulfur and trace minerals.  It is easy to digest and contains broken down material from the cartilage to help with arthritis and joint pain.  It also combats colds by thinning down respiratory mucus.  Bone broth is also a really good first food to give to your baby.  My 11 month old loves it and it helps keep her regular.

To make the soup, melt grass fed butter or coconut oil in a stock pot and saute carrots, celery, onions and garlic.  Once they are soft add leftover chicken, homemade broth and bring to a boil.  Add noodles.  Add peas.  So easy!!  I also like to make fresh bread in the bread maker when we are having soup.

Thanks for reading!!