I appreciate routine these days. The kids work best this way and with my mind in so many different places all the time, it’s nice to have defaults that are set. In the kitchen these days, this looks like meals that we rotate through every few weeks. We eat a lot of spaghetti, noodle soup, a version of this, and in the fall and winter, we have lots and lots of roast chicken. I stock up on whole chickens when they’re on sale at Whole Foods, I think I’ve gotten as many as 8 one time! Luckily we had enough freezer space during that particular trip.

So, roast chicken. Then the routine is, get the bones in our slow cooker, add a small list of things along with it, fill with water, and then let it simmer away overnight. All the while the kids are running circles around the kitchen island (why do they have an insane burst of energy RIGHT before bedtime?), but it’s fine because I’m on auto-pilot with this one now. And I love being able to be on auto-pilot at the end of the day, especially when it means I wake up to deep, rich chicken stock in the morning that I can turn into soups or base for risotto or any number of dishes that ask for it.

One little pro-tip that I learned from a friend, keep a ziplock or container in the freezer that you can add veggie scraps from throughout the weeks then dump it all into the slow cooker when it’s time to make stock. There’s no need for a whole carrot when you can use peelings and other odds and ends for veggies that might make sense in stock.

Homemade Chicken Stock

Bones from 1 whole chicken
1/2 onion
1 carrot
1 celery stalk
Small handful of thyme and parsley
1 tablespoon peppercorns

Put everything in a slow cooker, fill almost all the way up to the top and cover. Simmer on low for 8-10 hours. Cool, then freeze or use within a week.