I like to by a whole chicken and toss it in my slow cooker. Normally I just put in there by itself with some Basil, Oregano, Rosemary, Onion Powder, Thyme, Salt and pepper. From that chicken We’ll have legs & thighs for dinner. Then I remove the skin and cut up the rest of the chicken a make a couple of dishes with that over the next few days. One of our houses favorites is chicken noodle soup.
Ingredients
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 medium chopped sweet onion
2 large stalks of chopped celery
64 ounces of chicken broth (Normally two of the box’s of broth)
16 ounces of vegetable broth
1/2 to 1 pound chopped cooked chicken breast (Use your own judgement based on how chunky you like your soup)
12 ounce bag of egg noodles
2 large sliced carrots
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon dried oregano
salt and pepper to taste
Directions
In a large pot over medium heat, melt butter.
Cook onion and celery in butter until just tender, 5 minutes.
Pour in chicken and vegetable broths
Stir in chicken, noodles, carrots, basil, oregano, salt and pepper.
Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer 20 minutes before serving.
2 1/4teaspoons1 normal sized packet active dry yeast
1/2teaspoongranulated sugar
1teaspoonsalt
3tablespoonsolive oil
3cupsall purpose flourapproximate, see notes for alternative flours
Instructions
Measure water in a measuring cup, then add the yeast and sugar. Stir gently, then let sit until it’s active and foamy. This will happen within 5 minutes. If it doesn’t, your water may have been too hot or cold or your yeast may be old. It is important to use a thermometer to measure your water temp. An instant read thermometer is best but in a pinch a meat thermometer will do.
Stir salt, oil, and 2 cups flour in a large mixing bowl, stirring in the yeast mixture as you go, using a wooden spoon. Add the third cup of flour and then stir until you can’t anymore. Remove the spoon and then use your hands to work the dough into a ball that is slightly sticky.
Spray a second large bowl with nonstick cooking spray, add your pizza dough ball, then spray the top lightly with cooking spray and cover tightly with plastic wrap. Place in a warm area of the kitchen and let rise until doubled in size, about 1-2 hours.
When ready to make pizza: turn out dough onto a lightly floured cutting board or a sheet of parchment paper. Sprinkle with more flour if needed so you can stretch and flatten the dough into your desired size.
Cut parchment paper to fit the pan you’re using, hanging over just about an inch on all sides our circumference. Preheat oven to 500°F. Place pizza pan in the oven while the oven is preheating. Place your pizza dough on the sized parchment paper and top as desired. Once the oven is up to temperature, carefully transfer the pizza to the hot pan (be careful – pan is HOT). Cook until the cheese is melted and crust is slightly browned.
Recipe Notes
This pizza dough can make 1 thicker crust or 2 thin crust 10-12” pizzas, or 4-6 small personal sized pizzas.
One 10-12 inch thicker crust pizza
Two 10-12 inch thin crust pizzas
4-6 mini personal size pizzas
Alternative flours:
White Whole Wheat Crust: use 2 1/2 cups of white whole wheat flour. The dough will be more dense.
Whole Wheat Crust: use 1 1/2 cups of whole wheat flour and about 1 to 1 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour. The dough will be more dense.
Gluten Free Crust: use 2 cups of one to one gluten free flour (the kind that you can substitute one to one for all purpose, such as Bob’s Red Mill – light blue package). The dough is not going to rise. I let mine sit, but the gluten doesn’t form, because, obviously. So instead you just press the dough into the pan instead of rolling it out. The end result is more like a crunchy crust/chewy cracker.
Baking options:
Baked pizza: Heat pan(s) in a 500°F oven while you roll out the dough. Place each crust on parchment paper to easily transfer to the hot oven.
Grilled pizza: Heat grill to 500°F. Place pizza stone on the grill. Before pressing out dough into desired size and shape, coat the cutting board with cornmeal and press out the crust on top, to help it keep from sticking. Transfer the pizza to the hot stone using a flat pizza peel or slide it off the parchment paper.
To freeze pizza dough: wrap it well in plastic and ziploc bags and freeze up to one month. Pizza dough can be made and baked or grilled (without toppings) and frozen between parchment paper in ziploc bags for easy dinners.
Just started a nice big pot of chili in mine.
