We poached a 5lb free-range chicken in our slow cooker after washing, drying and seasoning with S&P. Placed bird in slow cooker with carrots, tomatoes, celery, parsley and a bay leaf, plus about 6 cups of liquid (mostly water, some broth). Cooked for 6 hours on low and checked to ensure the internal temp reached 180 degrees. Removed skin from chicken and removed all the meat from the bone and put in an airtight container in the fridge. Strained remaining ingredients out and saved the liquid in an airtight container in the fridge. When it was cool, skimmed off about 90% of the fat. You can remove all the fat if you prefer. -- Chicken Curry This isn’t really much of a recipe, more just combining stuff from the “ethnic foods” section of the grocery store. I add in a few fresh ingredients and some potatoes (not an authentic addition to this dish, as far as I know) to make for a full and filling meal. 1 yellow onion, diced 3 cloves of garlic, minced 2 cans coconut milk (for a lighter dish, use one can of light milk, but I like at least half of the coconut milk to be normal) 3 tbs of red curry paste available in most major grocery stores and asian food markets 1 lb of peeled fingerling potatoes cut into 1” pieces 1-2 tbs of grated fresh ginger 1 can of sliced or julienned bamboo shoots 1 can of sliced water chestnuts 1 can of straw mushrooms or about 2 cups of fresh mushrooms sliced 1 red bell pepper chopped into 1/2” pieces 1/4 c of soy sauce (or to taste, we use the low sodium type) OPTIONAL: a couple tbs of fish sauce About 1/3 of the poached chicken meat which is about 2 cups Garnish with fresh cilantro or parsley Place a stew pot on medium heat. Add enough oil to coat the bottom. Cook onions and garlic until translucent. Add coconut milk and curry paste and stir until evenly blended. Bring to a low boil and then add potatoes, ginger, bamboo shoots and water chestnuts. Return to low boil then cook on low, covered for about 20 minutes or until the potatoes are almost done. When you stick a fork in a potato, it should be fairly tender but somewhat crumbly. Add mushrooms, bell peppers, soy sauce and chicken and cook until peppers and potatoes are tender. You can also add the fish sauce if you are using it. This will give it a more authentic flavor, but I never remember to pick any up. Serve over rice or noodles and garnish with fresh cilantro or parsley.

I promise that it tastes better than it looks. I didn't make this in a slow cooker like the recipe called for, so it was done in about an hour and a half. Be warned that cooking it quicker like this will require 3 cans of chicken stock instead of 2. Also, I used Butterball turkey smoked sausage. Ingredients 8 ounces smoked sausage, cut lengthwise into halves, then cut into 1/2-inch pieces 3 medium carrots, sliced 1 package (16 ounces) dried split peas, rinsed and sorted 2 stalks celery, sliced 1 medium onion, chopped 3/4 teaspoon dried marjoram leaves 1 bay leaf 2 cans (14-1/2 ounces each) reduced-sodium chicken broth Cook Time 4 to 5 hours Slow Cooker Directions 1. Heat medium nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add sausage; cook 5 to 8 minutes or until browned. Drain fat. Combine sausage, peas, carrots, celery, onion, marjoram and bay leaf in slow cooker. Pour broth over mixture. 2. Cover; cook on LOW 4 to 5 hours or until peas are tender. Remove and discard bay leaf. Cover; let stand 15 minutes to thicken.