Life on the farm can be wonderful, even though it does add tons of extra work to an already busy life. I love having the space, the land, the freedom for my children to run and play outside on acres of land. I enjoy watching the horses gallop around in the pasture. I love petting the adorable miniature donkeys and feeling the soft fur of our newest baby donkey. We are raising turkeys right now for 4-H. We have playful goats and soft silky Holland Lop bunnies. I especially enjoy having chickens. I love the fresh eggs we get every day. I have chosen different breeds of hens that lay multi-colored eggs so my egg basket is beautiful! God's creativity is so awesome!!
I would love to keep a rooster sometime. The problem is that we have one neighbor who does not like the noises of the farm. We live in a rural area, but the neighborhood that borders us on one side has homes that have smaller acreage and no farm animals. This neighbor has complained numerous times about the sounds coming from our birds in particular, and roosters are at the top of his list as being a "nuisance." My husband would rather not step on his toes over something he sees as unnecessary (hens will lay with or without a rooster). So any time we have had a rooster in the past (when we hatch chicks, we can end up with as many as half being roosters), we have given them away, or as a last resort, Todd has killed them. He always killed and disposed of the roosters before I could do anything with them! What a waste! So last week when he noticed the rooster, which the kids had named (sadly) "Sunshine," he told me to get ready this time if I wanted to make a meal out of this one. So on Saturday, I was prepared with a huge pot of boiling water when Todd brought me the crowing culprit. De-feathering and cleaning it out weren't as bad as you might think. It was pretty easy once I dunked the chicken in the boiling water, to pluck off the feathers. Then we singed off the remaining downy feathers and I cleaned out the inside of the chicken. It took me a little while, which I think could improve with more experience. Overall, I was pleased and felt quitema sense of accomplishment when I put our next dinner in the fridge to be prepared the next morning for our Sunday dinner.
Here is the recipe I used for the chicken in the crock pot--I adapted it from one I had found online to accommodate the vegetables I wanted to use and also for cooking in the slow cooker versus the conventional oven. I added onions to the bottom of the pot, quartered enough potatoes for our family, and peeled and sliced several carrots to place in the pot around the chicken as well. This is a complete meal all in one pot! Add a salad, if desired, and that's it! I put this in the pot in the morning before church, and just let it cook all day until we were ready for dinner. This was an easy and delicious meal (especially if you don't butcher your own chicken!). We have enough leftover to make a nice chicken soup or at least broth.
Roasted Whole Chicken and Vegetables
Ingredients:
1 (4 to 5 pound) large chicken for roasting
Chicken Rub (see recipe below)
carrots, cut into chunks
potatoes, cut into chunks
1 medium onion, cut into chunks
1/4 cup olive oil
1. Place about 1/2 of the onions in the bottom of the pot (use a large crockpot for this).
2. Remove gizzards and cut off any excess fat from chicken. Place chicken on top of the onions, tucking the legs or tying them together if desired (this isn't necessary).
3. In a small bowl, make Chicken Rub by blending curry, sage, rosemary, coriander, thyme, and garlic together; then vigorously rub all over the outside skin of the chicken (saving a bit to mix with the olive oil). Place prepared vegetables around chicken.
4. Blend the remaining Chicken Rub with 1/4 cup of olive oil to make a baste and pour over the top.
5. Cover. Cook on high for 6 hours, or on low for 8-10 hours.
"The Lord will give you prosperity in the land....blessing you with many children, numerous livestock, and abundant crops." Deuteronomy 28:11
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