Fauxtisserie Chicken and Chicken and Dumplings

"Rotisserie" Chicken
1 whole chicken, small enough to fit in your slow cooker
Salt-based seasoning (Seasoning salt, Cajun seasoning, lemon pepper
with salt in it, etc. Just make sure salt is one of the first
ingredients on the label.)
OPTIONAL:
Whole garlic cloves, peeled
Fresh herbs
Make 3 balls of aluminum foil and place them in the bottom of your
slow cooker. These hold the chicken off the bottom so the hot air can
circulate all around the chicken and so it's not stewing in its own
juices.
Rinse chicken, including the cavity, and pat dry with paper towels.
Place the chicken on its back so the breast is facing up and the legs
are on the plate. If you want (and I actually strongly recommend that
you do UNLESS you're looking for a neutral flavor), pull the skin up
all around the chicken. This does involve sticking your hand between
the skin and the breast. Oooh, sounds dirty. Slice a few garlic cloves
in half lengthwise and stick them under the skin. You can also arrange
a couple sprigs of fresh herbs like rosemary, thyme, and/or sage under
the skin. This makes a very pretty chicken when it's all cooked and
adds a lot of flavor.

Rub salt-based seasoning VERY liberally onto the skin of the chicken.
Place chicken breast-up on the foil in the slow cooker, cover, turn
heat to low, and leave it alone for 7-8 hours.


Chicken and Dumplings

6 cups chicken broth (1 1/2 boxes or 3 cans) OR 6 c. water + 6 chicken
bouillon cubes
1 lb. cooked chicken, cut into bite-sized pieces (I use 1/2 of a
fauxtisserie chicken and it's FABULOUS! You could also use leftover
rotisserie chicken from the grocery store)
1 c. sliced carrots
2 ribs celery, chopped
1 onion, minced
2-3 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
1 bay leaf
1 handful of chopped fresh parsley (or 1 Tbsp. dried parsley)
1/2 tsp. basil
1 14-oz. can evaporated milk (fat free is fine)
1 recipe of Bisquik dumplings (recipe is on the box) or 1 small
package of Kluski noodles

In a large pot, heat some olive oil over medium heat and add onions
and garlic. Saute for a few minutes and then add chicken broth,
chicken, bay leaf, and basil. Bring to a boil. Add carrots and celery
and reduce heat to a simmer. Cover and cook until carrots and celery
are tender. When carrots and celery are almost done, add chopped
parsley. Add evaporated milk. Increase heat to boiling and add noodles
or add prepared Bisquik by small spoonfuls (they'll really puff up
while they're cooking). Cook until noodles are tender or until
dumplings are cooked through (they should appear moist but feel firm;
this is after about 4-5 minutes).
One other thing--if you know you'll have leftovers, only add dumplings
or noodles to what you know you'll eat immediately. The
noodles/dumplings will soak up all the liquid in the soup when you
store it as leftovers, so you'll have overly-mushy noodles and chicken
with no broth if you don't.

Serves 5-6-ish...