Several years ago I used to do mega cooking sessions to save money on our food bill. This is one procedure that I still use now because it is convenient and saves money when you buy on sale:

Chicken Cooking Session

When I get home from grocery shopping the night before a cooking day, I start my chicken. I always buy one or two 10 lb. bags of chicken quarters or whole chickens. I put it in my big stock pot along with celery, onions, green onions, garlic, and carrots. Cover with water and heat to a simmer. Cover and let it all simmer for 4 hours. Turn it off and keep it covered. By morning the meat is cool enough to pick from the bones. This way I have lots of broth for my cooking as well as lots of cooked chicken on hand. When it has cooled for several hours I strain it all into a large bowl and put it in the fridge. The fat will solidify after several hours so it is easy to take the fat off of the top. After removing the layer of solid fat, I then measure the broth into 2 cup portions, put then in quart sized freezer bags and freeze them. It is very convenient to have your own frozen de-fatted chicken stock. Yield: I consistently get 10 cups of nice chicken meat from a 10 lb bag, as well as about 20+ cups of broth.

Safety Note: Remember that a general rule is that food shouldn't be between 45 degrees and 140 degrees for more than two hours so if you are cooking a smaller amount than I do, you might not want to leave it sitting. Please as in all things use common sense.

Or you can make less by doing this.........

All Purpose Chicken & Broth from the Crockpot

I like to use those whole chickens here -- but make sure it will fit in your crockpot. Also chicken quarters work great..

1 Onion, sliced
1 Carrot, sliced
1 Celery rib, sliced
1 clove of garlic, crushed
1 large Chicken, 5 lbs or more
1/2 c Chicken broth or water

Place sliced vegetables in the bottom of the crockpot. Set cleaned chicken on top, neck up. If you wish you may season with herbs, pepper, etc, but this is not necessary. Pour broth over, cover and cook on low 8 or 9 hours.

Remove chicken from pot and let cool until easy to handle. Meanwhile, strain stock and put in fridge to defat. This stock is double strength, so mix with equal parts water for use. Remove chicken from bones and cut into pieces sized appropriately for your recipe.

Yield: about 4 - 6 cups of chicken and 3+ cups double strength chicken stock.

Note : This is a painless way to obtain cooked chicken for salads, casseroles, etc. An added bonus is the several cups of double strength chicken broth. Juicy, tender, flavorful chicken and a very rich broth for
very little of your time.

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Plain chicken uses

I like to package my chicken with a bit of cooked down broth in 2 cup portions. I use this later in the month for chicken dumplings, chicken noodles or, tacos/burritos, or what ever you need cooked chicken for.. maybe a chicken salad etc.. you get the picture!!

~Rose

Just put my whole chicken in the crock pot about an hour ago. So far very easy. Can't wait to see how it comes out. I already have some meals figured out for the chicke and broth.

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When I buy the big 10lbs of chicken at our grocery store, it's always frozen you would have to unthaw the whole thing and eat chicken for what seems like a month. So what I've done the last few times is I dig out my canning pressure pot and pressure cook the chicken. I freeze all the broth, and then usually shred and cube the chicken after picking it off the bone. Works well.

thanks

Great tips, thanks for sharing!