Crock pot ideas/Recipie

[KnottedYet]

I usually toss the whole shebang in, and it holds together enough that I can pull it out whole. But the last time i did it, the ribs and spine came apart. It was miserable, bones in every spoonful.

Next time I'm just pulling off the good stuff and throwing out the ribs and spine. Ick.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

I regularly make a whole roast chicken in the oven for DH and myself.
We eat chicken dinner two nights in a row (with stuffing and cranberry sauce ).
Then there's usually a bunch of meat pickings left on the carcass. I take the time to pick of all the meat and good bits I can off the carcass, which is usually a nice bowlfull. I throw out the bones. Then I divide the meat bits in half, and put them in two freezer bags in the freezer. Whenever I want to make chicken soup, I just grab a bag out and throw the frozen bits in the crockpot with maybe 6 cups water and let it get going for about 3 hours. Then I throw in carrots, celery, onion, and seasonings and let it go another 3 hours or so. I turn it up to high and put in some egg noodles 15 minutes before serving.
I find it's usually worth the time to pick the meat bits off the bones otherwise the gazillion bone parts tend to fall apart into the soup.

[Kimmyt]

Lisa, do you make stock from the bones for your soups?

I have a leg of lamb that is leftover, some scraps on it but mostly bone and I am contemplating making Scotch broth with it. I've never made a stock, though... can I put any amount of water in? It's a smallish leg bone, but I was going to buy some bouillion in case the stock came out weak.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Hi,
No, i don't use the bones for anything. Call me lazy. I put the chicken pickings (mostly meat, a little roasted skin bits too) in a pot with several cups water to start my soup. I did buy some pre-made organic vegetable stock and sometimes I use that 1/2 and 1/2 with water if I want a really rich soup, but mostly I find my soups rich enough if I add plenty of veggies and whatever meat I choose or not. Seasoning works well for me rather than making and storing stocks.

I often use the crock-pot tip of quickly browning stuff like meat, onions, garlic, or peppers in a pan before dumping it into the pot...this REALLY adds a great flavor and is well worth the extra few minutes in my opinion. It makes a huge flavor improvement.

The other day I made ham hocks & beans. First I trimmed the skin and outside fat off the hocks...then browned the ham hocks in olive oil in a skillet. The taste of the browned hocks is very different from just simmered hocks. Then I took them out and browned some onions and fresh garlic. All that then got dumped in to crockpot along with 2 LARGE cans baked beans, a big squirt each of molasses, ketchup, and bbq sauce, also 1/2 cup brown sugar and some pepper. I put it on low for 7 hours and it was INCREDIBLY yummy, and the hocks melted in your mouth.