Dibbens and Dinner

I apologize for the quiet that has dominated this little corner! I had a son just weeks after my last post and the Wee man in my life has greatly (and happily) taken up my time (especially as I introduce him to  the wonderful world that is solid food! a new frontier, making baby food, but no less adventurous :) )

But as we find our footing in the land of parenthood I have once again begun to cook and feel myself revived from the dredges sleep deprivation and regaining my sense of self.

It's a funny thing, something they warn you about when you become a parent. You go from being you, to being 'little man's mom'. You are now invisible in most crowds as once loving relatives and friends by bass your presence completely for the fabulous bundle of glowing joy that is your child, and you at once beam with pride at the chick magnet that is your son and stand frozen in mute horror that you no longer exist. Now, I am blessed with friends who DO  take the time to ask me (me, ME, honestly me and not the plural!) how I am doing, but as days pass filled with feeding and playtime, laundry and diapers, tantrums and kisses, you wonder when the things that you used to define yourself by as an individual slipped through the cracks.

This can make staring into the mirror hard,as your body no longer seems your own, your mind is filled with careful and frantic mommy thoughts and your heart with the teeter totter of adoration for your baby and guilt at the little voice deep inside you that wonders what becomes of -you-?

But my mother promised me I wasn't gone forever, and that first glistening beacon of hope for me came in the vessel of a roast chicken. I know, try to hide that shock and awe that my grande revelation came in the form of poultry. Even the word is fabulous. Chicken.

Chicken, chicken, chicken.

(you get your kicks where you can with little sleep and a lack of showers)

Anyways, on to the bird.

In my off kilter attempts at being the perfect stay at home mom, I intended one day to cook an impressive meal, just like the pre-dibben days. Roast chicken is my all time favorite, especially paired with the wonder-spud in any fashion. But time and money were both in short supply with a two month old so I had to get creative. So I turned to my trusty friend the crock pot. Could I cook a whole chicken in one pot? Seemed to reason that it was possible. So I dug about between feedings and singing Raffi songs for a recipe that backed up my theory and found one in one of my staggering piles of cooking magazines. So I took the premise- temprature and time, and ran amok from there.

So off I went, tossing things into my pot, baby in the bouncer alongside, humming lullabies and surrendering to the therapy that was the simple magic of herbs,oils and vegetables.

I put on the lid, and throughout the day was teased my the scents of possibility and homecoming.
Six hours later, I declared it dinner, the husband declared it delicious, and that tiny voice deep inside proclaimed;
"I'm back!"


Epiphany in a Pot Roast Chicken

Ingredients:
1 roasting chicken, 4-5 pounds
Small bag of fingerling potatoes, mix varieties for color and flavor
5 Carrots, peeled and quartered
1 Sweet onion, cut into thin rings
1 Package baby bella mushrooms, washed
1/2 cup olive oil
4-5  cloves crushed fresh garlic
1 tsp thyme
1 tsp majoram
salt and pepper

NOTE: Make sure your crock pot can hold the bird,otherwise things get interesting.

1. Prepare veggies and toss them  together in the crock pot. In a small bowl, mix olive oil, herbs, and salt and pepper to taste. Take about half of the mixture and toss the veggies to coat.
2. Place chicken on top of veggies and snuggle it into the pot so that the lid can close properly over it. Rub remainder of the mixture over the chicken.
3. Cover, set on low and cook for 6 hours or until the meat falls off the bone when you lift it.

My favorite thing about this recipe? The left overs..here's why-

Chicken. Pot. Pie. Seriously, you even have home made stock after cooking the chicken! Use a slotted spoon to collect the veggies after removing the chicken, scrape the bottom to get all those good bits and let the liquid cool. Skim off some of the fat and you have beautiful stock for the pot pie or other fabulous chickeny escapades.