re: Lend me your crock pot recipes!

For chicken soup or stews, I have better luck using pre-cooked added in the last 30 - 60 minutes. Pre-cooked meaning the leftover roasted or smoked chicken from Sunday. Cooking raw chicken on low heat all day is not a great idea from a food safety standpoint from what I've read.

Alternatively, if you need pieces of flavorful, juicy chicken for something, there is nothing easier than popping a salted whole chicken in a large slow cooker for about 2 to 2 1/2 hours on high. Add no oil or liquid, just a few aromatic herbs if you like. You won't get a crisp skin like roasting, but it will brown a bit, and the meat is very tender and juicy.

After you remove the meat, add the bones back into the cooker to simmer all night for stock. Some folks like to add a little apple cider vinegar to a long simmering stock so you get the health benefits of nutrients from the bones.

That's a lot of mileage from a $5 chicken.