This recipe is courtesy of my wife:
1 crockpot
1 small roasting chicken
1 bunch of celery stalks
1 bag of baby carrots
1 bag of small potatoes
1/2 white onion, vidalia recomended
1 container of chicken hearts
1 32 ounce container of chicken broth
Water as needed, Can substitute in chicken stock
Poultry seasoning
Chef Paul Prudhomme’s Poultry Magic
1 tbsp salted butter
- Basic preparation
1a) Thoroughly wash the vegetables (food borne illness is no joke)
1b) Medium Chop the celery and onion, but not the carrots or potatoes - Load the crockpot
2a) Put the chicken in the crockpot
2b) Add the vegetables to the crockpot
2c) Add the chicken broth to the crockpot (carefully, unless you like cleaning up large sticky messes) - Brown the chicken hearts
3a) Melt the butter in a saucepan, using medium heat
3b) Add the chicken hearts
3c) Add the seasoning as you see fit
3d) Browning makes the seasoning stick to the hearts, the main cooking occurs in the crockpot
2d) Add the hearts to the crockpot
2e) Add more seasoning to the cockpot as you see fit, we usually use around 1 tbsp of each by the time is said and done
2f) Add water or chicken stock to raise the liquid level so the entire chicken is covered. Water dilutes flavor, so even though the chicken stock is a pain to make, I feel it is worth the hassle - Cook the crockpot contents
3a) If you want fast, use the high setting for 6 hours
3b) Adjust the time as needed for lower settings - The soup is very hot at the end
4a) Especially the potatoes, I have come close to burning the roof of my mouth with them
The chicken stock recipe I recommend comes out of the book Fork In The Road by Chef Prudhomme. If you can find a recipe that sounds good to you on the Internet, more power to you, as that saves you the cost of the book on the Nook (not much, I am happy to have it, as the Nook reader is free). The chicken hearts make a huge difference in the taste.