Best Crock Pot Recipe of 2011: Roasted Sticky Chicken

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I am linking this recipe up to Finding Joy in My Kitchen's Countdown to 2012: Best Crock Pot Recipe.  I have to confess, as this was actually originally posted as part of my Tried It & Loved It series.  But this one is just too good to not share again--as it makes using whole chickens VERY easy.   

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In trying to incorporate more whole foods in our meals, I have also been jumping into the world of organic meat.  But it is expensive!  That is why we bought a quarter of a beef--it's grass finished and way less expensive than buying it from the local grocery store.  Pastured chickens are best (and the most expensive), but organic chickens are still better than your standard commercially raised.  Just watch Food Inc. if you don't believe me.  Like commercially raised chicken, organic is more expensive if you are buying the bird already cut up, so I opt for whole chickens to save money.  But because I am not ready to hack into a raw chicken just yet (although I hear it's easy), I buy whole organic chickens whenever I can find them on sale.  It's like getting a rotisserie chicken for less--of course if you are buying organic, that just blows that theory out of the water.

We usually eat some of the chicken for the main portion of the meal for the first night and then use the leftovers for things like White Enchiladas, Blanco Chili, or Chicken Pad Thai,  See the recipes link at the top for other recipes using cooked chicken.  

The easiest way I have found to cook a whole chicken is using the slow cooker.  Simply season it up, place it in the slow cooker for 8 to 10 hours and it's done.  

And if you have a really sweet husband, he will de-bone all the meat for you.
   
Spoiled, aren't I? 

Roasted Sticky Chicken ~ adapted from Kelly at Faithful Provisions

4 tsp salt
2 tsp paprika
1 tsp cayenne (red) pepper
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp thyme
½ tsp garlic powder
1 tsp black pepper
1 large roasting chicken, as big as you can find
1 cup onion, chopped

Rinse chicken, pull out any extra special lovelies left in the cavity and pat dry.  Mix together all the spices and rub over the entire chicken.  Put chopped onion inside chicken cavity and place chicken in slow cooker on low (8~10 hours) and cook until juices run clear.